Anyone who’s familiar with writer/director Kevin Smith knows he’s a big comic book fan, and his favorite superhero is Batman. For years, he even hosted a podcast called Fatman on Batman (it’s since been retitled Fatman Beyond). So for his latest movie, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, Smith decided to include not one, but a trio of actors who’ve portrayed the Caped Crusader.
As an example of history repeating itself, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot follows the eponymous duo (played once again by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively) traveling to Hollywood to prevent a Bluntman and Chronic reboot from being made, the same thing they tried to do on the original Bluntman and Chronic movie nearly 20 years ago. Among the people Smith has cast as characters to cross paths with Jay and Silent Bob during their latest adventure are three Batman actors, which the filmmaker described as “kind of amazing.”
However, Kevin Smith wasn’t willing to identity who these three actors are to EW, and there’s certainly no shortage of candidates given how many Batman movies, TV shows and video games over the years. That said, one of those actors has already been confirmed and I have some reasonable guesses on the other two.
First, Diedrich Bader will be reprising Gordon the security guard, who gave Jay and Silent Bob trouble during their first solo feature, and Bader voiced Batman in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and will so again in the Harley Quinn animated series. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Smith found a role for Kevin Conroy, who’s been voicing Batman frequently for nearly 30 years, most notably in Batman: The Animated Series and the rest of the DC Animated Universe.
As for the third Batman actor, while they aren’t as close as they used to be, perhaps Kevin Smith managed to recruit Ben Affleck, who played Gotham City’s Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League. Affleck expressed interest in appearing in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot earlier this year, although if he is appearing, then is he playing himself or one of his previous View Askewniverse characters, Shannon Hamilton or Holden McNeil?
If Ben Affleck isn’t coming back for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, then my other guesses for that third Batman slot are Will Arnett, who voices Batman in the LEGO Movie franchise, or Will Friedle, who voiced Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond. Whoever it is, we’re not that far away from finding out, as the movie is supposed to come out this fall.
These three Batman actors are just some of the many actors who are appearing in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. The lineup of new and familiar faces also includes Craig Robinson, Joe Manganiello, Justin Long, David Dastmalchian, Grant Gustin, Method Man, Molly Shannon, Rosario Dawson, Nicolas Cage and Chris Hemsworth.
We’ll get our first taste of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot this weekend, as the first trailer is premiering at the movie’s Hall H panel this Saturday and will be released to the public soon after. Those attending the panel will also get to watch the “scene in a scene” of the new Bluntman and Chronic in action.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more news regarding Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, but for now, check out our 2019 release schedule to see what’s hitting theaters later this year.
