As everyone looks to put the finishing touches on their 2013 Top 10 lists, it’s time to look ahead to the films on tap for 2014.  One of the more exciting pics coming our way is director David Fincher’s next feature, an adaptation of the bestselling Gillian Flynn novel Gone Girl.  The story centers on a man whose wife disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary, only to have all roads point to him as the woman’s killer.  Ben Affleck stars in the lead role as Nick Dunne, and we now have our first official look at the actor in character standing next to a missing persons portrait of his wife, played by Rosamund Pike.  The book is one hell of a page-turner, and I’m really excited to see what Fincher does with this darkly dramatic material.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film also stars Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Scoot McNairy, Missi Pyle, Casey Wilson, Emily Ratajkowski, and Neil Patrick Harris.  Gone Girl opens October 3, 2014.

Via 20th Century Fox’s Twitter.  Click to enlarge.

Here’s the synopsis for Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl:

Marriage can be a real killer.

One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. TheChicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around. [Amazon]