For the films set in his View Askewniverse, writer and director Kevin Smith often tapped a recurring group of actors to play the same or different roles in each film. And one of the staples of the View Askewniverse was Ben Affleck. So naturally, with many Kevin Smith regulars returning for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, people are wondering if Ben Affleck will join them, and he seems down to do so. Responding to a question about whether he would make an appearance he said:
Your guess is a good as mine. I haven’t been asked to make an appearance but you never know, there’s still time. We’ll see. I think if it was up to me, I would rather do Holden than Shannon, but I would defer to Kevin.
As it currently stands, Ben Affleck is not set to show up in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, but he certainly sounds open to the idea and he definitely didn’t shoot down the possibility as something he’s not interested in. If Kevin Smith would like Ben Affleck to join in the festivities with his former View Askewniverse mates, he can call him up before production is over.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is still filming so as Ben Affleck says, there is still time. And while he probably wouldn’t have a major role at this point, he certainly could show up for a cameo as small as his one in Clerks II or maybe even something a little larger like his part in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. If Kevin Smith does ask him to make an appearance, Ben Affleck has a preference to which character he’d play.
Like Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams and Brian O’Halloran, Ben Affleck has played multiple characters in the View Askewniverse. Save for his fallen angel Bartleby from Dogma, the two most obvious characters he could return as are Holden McNeil and Shannon Hamilton. If it were between these two, Affleck would much prefer to return as Holden than Shannon, as he told Collider.
Holden McNeil appeared in two View Askewniverse films. First he was the protagonist in Chasing Amy, where he was the co-creator of the Bluntman and Chronic comic book, the comic book based on Jay and Silent Bob that Hollywood was adapting in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Holden appeared in that film as well, where he introduced Jay and Silent Bob to the internet and the movie being made about them in an incredibly prophetic look at online movie culture. You can watch part of that scene below.
Given his appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Holden seems the most natural choice to return for the sequel, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, as opposed to the scumbag statutory rapist Shannon Hamilton from Mallrats. Holden is also the character Ben Affleck would prefer, although he clarifies that he would defer to Kevin Smith. So it doesn’t seem like Shannon would be a deal breaker.
Hopefully Kevin Smith does give Ben Affleck a call. It would be great to see him return to the View Askewniverse, and just have some fun in this silly comedy. He could reprise his role as Holden and again make a meta commentary about online culture, this time slipping in a hilarious reference to the Batfleck of it all.
Ben Affleck also played himself in a different scene in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, so maybe he could do that again in this lampooning of Hollywood, finally letting us know if Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season got a sequel to complete the trilogy.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is currently filming. We’ll keep you updated when it gets an official release date and in the meantime, check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see the movies headed your way this year.
