This just in...

BEN AFFLECK has just signed on to co-produce the big-screen adaptation of MARCUS SAKEY's acclaimed crime novel The Blade Itself, according to The Hollywood Reporter -- and he's bringing some of the folks who worked on his directorial debut 'Gone Baby Gone' along for the ride.

Ben will produce the project with SEAN BAILEY, who co-produced 'Gone Baby Gone' with him; and AARON STOCKARD, who co-wrote 'Gone Baby Gone' with Ben, will write the script.

'Blade' centers on two Chicago childhood friends who made their reputation committing petty crimes as kids before choosing different paths in life. Years later, they are reunited, and one is forced to decide how far he will go to protect the secrets of his past.