Matt Damon casts John Krasinski in his directorial debut

(AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS)

Matt Damon plans his directorial debut with the film Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses, with John Krasinski ( It's Complicated, Away We Go) signed on to star.

A baseball wife-swap story called The Trade was the original project he considered for himself and Ben Affleck in lead roles. But due to legal issues, the film is on hold, per Vulture in New York magazine.

According to that report, Damon stated, "I am coming closer to a directorial thing. I've got a few things that I really want to direct, and one I'm actually going to start at the first quarter of next year." The actor added, "John Krasinski's in it."

Father Daughter follows a man on a multi-state crime spree with his daughter in tow. It has not been revealed if Damon will star in the film, too.

After working with directors like Martin Scorsese ( The Departed), Steven Spielberg ( Saving Private Ryan), the Coen Brothers ( True Grit), and Steven Soderbergh ( Che: Part Two), Damon will join Ben Affleck, his fellow Oscar-winner for the Good Will Hunting screenplay, behind the camera.

Krasinski, a regular on The Office, will also appear in The Muppets in November.

Damon was recently in The Adjustment Bureau, costarring with Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt. He will next star in Steven Soderberg's Contagion costarring Kate Winslet and Jude Law on October 21 and Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo with Scarlett Johansson opening December 23.

RC