Ben Affleck Raises Questions About His Famous Phoenix Tattoo After He's Seen Filming Animals with Different Ink

Ben Affleck's back tattoo looks a little ... different.

While appearing on the set of his new movie Animals, in which he will be starring and directing, the Oscar winner showed off a glimpse of what appeared to be a new (or altered) back tattoo, posing questions on whether or not he'd transformed one of his boldest works.

In new photos taken of the actor, 52, filming in Los Angeles, a portion of an all-black tat can be seen on his lower back as he's bending down.

The ink appears to look different from Affleck's multicolored phoenix that the public first got a view of in December 2015 when he was photographed shirtless while working on Live by Night.

Although he joked that the massive tattoo was fake in a 2016 Extra interview with Mario Lopez, he confirmed that it was, in fact, real during a 2019 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. At the time, he said the image was "meaningful" to him and he was "very happy" with it.

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According to a source, Affleck had gotten the phoenix done after his split from Jennifer Garner in 2015 while he was still living in a guest house on the family’s Los Angeles compound. “They had a huge tattoo machine at the house for days,” the insider previously told PEOPLE. “It took hours and hours to finish.”

It's not confirmed if Affleck's more muted tattoo is acting as a cover-up for his phoenix for filming purposes or if he personally decided to redesign it.

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Affleck has other tattoos elsewhere on his body, including the cross on his left shoulder and the mural on his right. In February 2023, he also got his and ex-wife Jennifer Lopez's initials inked on his arm, as did she, but on her ribcage. It's not confirmed if he still has the ink following the couple's divorce in August 2024.

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In recent weeks, Affleck has been making changes to his appearance beyond his tattoos. While attending CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this month to promote his other movie The Accountant 2, he took his new facial hair (a.k.a. his darker beard and mustache) for a run. Days earlier from the event held on March 30, the Gone Girl star was spotted in Los Angeles with a slightly lighter hairstyle and gray-speckled facial hair.