After 13 years away, Kevin Smith is finally returning to his View Askewniverse later this year with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which is packed full of cameos. One of the bigger names in the lineup is Val Kilmer, who, nearly 25 years after his turn as Batman, is portraying the new Bluntman in the Bluntman and Chronic reboot, alongside Melissa Benoist’s Chronic.
As it turns out, Val Kilmer’s Jay and Silent Reboot cameo came together rather quickly, yet also “very organically,” as Kevin Smith put it. The filmmaker is a huge fan of Kilmer’s role as Chris Knight in Real Science, and the two started communicating with one another while Smith was shooting Jay and Silent Bob Reboot in New Orleans. Smith recalled:
I got a text from Val’s producer, inviting me to Val’s Citizen Twain show when it was in the NOLA area. He also gave me Val’s email and encouraged me to reach out. So we became Pen Pals, during which time he told me he’d already shot his stuff on Top Gun: Maverick. So I hit Val up about coming to play with us on Reboot while he was in town. Val wrote ‘I don’t know if you’ve heard, but my voice isn’t quite back yet. Perhaps I can play some poor cousin to Silent Bob?’ I wrote back ‘I think I’ve got the perfect cameo for you, if you’re cool with it.’ And thus, Bluntman began!
Kevin Smith shared this story on his Instagram, a week after the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot trailer was released and we learned Val Kilmer is playing the new Bluntman in the View Askewniverse. What started as email correspondence turned into a job opportunity for Kilmer, as he’d already wrapped up his time on the Top Gun sequel and was game to take part in Smith's latest movie.
It only took a day for Val Kilmer to film his Jay and Silent Bob Reboot scenes, but Kevin Smith had a blast watching him perform. The actor’s lack of voice suggests that this new Bluntman will either be a silent type or quite gruff, similar to a certain Dark Knight.
Back in Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek were cast to lead the original Bluntman and Chronic movie, and nearly two decades later, Val Kilmer and Melissa Benoist are leading a reboot that looks much grittier. It is worth mentioning, though, that Biggs and Van Der Beek are also appealing in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and they are not fans of the new Bluntman and Chronic movie.
Val Kilmer is one of three Batman actors appearing in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Diedrich Bader, who voiced Batman in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, is reprising Gordon the security guard, and Ben Affleck, the DC Extended Universe’s first Batman, reunited with Kevin Smith to reprise Holden McNeill, the co-creator of Bluntman and Chronic.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot opens in theaters on October 15. If you’re curious about what other movies come out later this year, look through our 2019 release schedule.
