Ben Affleck Requested More Than a Cameo in Mallrats 2, So Kevin Smith Obliged
Ben Affleck asked to have a larger role in Mallrats 2, aka Twilight of the Mallrats. Affleck’s Shannon Hamilton appeared as a villain-type character in the first installment. While he’s not in the movie a whole lot, he has some pretty memorable scenes. As for the sequel, Kevin Smith previously said that Affleck’s Hamilton character is, “not like a main character who pops up all the time and stuff, but he helps set our plot in motion,” noting that it would basically be a cameo.
It appears that Ben Affleck’s Shannon Hamilton character will have a much larger role in Mallrats 2. Affleck reunited with Kevin Smith to work on Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, which was another cameo, but the two are hoping to do more work on the upcoming Mallrats sequel. Smith explained how it came together in a new interview. He had this to say.
“[Ben Affleck] cameo-ed in Reboot, far more than a cameo, but we were texting, and I was just like … He had mentioned Mallrats because he mentioned his oldest daughter makes fun of him for Mallrats because of how he’s dressed in the movie… She’s like, ‘Where’d you get those clothes?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ So I was like, ‘Well, you’ll be able to tell her that you’re in the next Mallrats if you want to come out and cameo.’ And he was like, ‘She likes it too much. Better be more than one scene cameo, dude. Put me in a lot.’ I said, ‘All right, done and done.'”
As for when production will begin on Mallrats 2, Kevin Smith is hopeful that they’ll be able to start soon. “2021 is what we’re hoping for,” Smith said when asked about starting up. “And we’ve been engaged deeply with the good folks at Universal a week-and-a-half ago. It took another very positive step forward. So I mean, it feels like it’s going to happen. Now the big question is, how does it happen?” Movie productions are just now starting to get back to work safely, and it sounds like Smith is trying to figure that out now.
As previously reported, Mallrats 2 will touch on current events. Kevin Smith says, “Luckily, because I was home and doing the new draft of Twilight of the Mallrats while quarantine was going on, COVID is just a factor woven into the story.” However, people have been advising him not to do so. “Some cats were like, ‘Man, this is going to be over. You can’t put that in a movie.’ I’m like, ‘This is never going to be over. This is going to be around for a minute. So trust me, I think we could weave it into the pop culture.'” So, the public health crisis will make it into Mallrats 2, just like Ben Affleck.
Since malls could easily cease to exist after the public health crisis runs its course, Kevin Smith finds it fitting for Mallrats 2. “We were telling a story about the death of the mall anyway. And this may be the final death knell for mass shopping,” says Smith. In addition, the whole health crisis has helped make the movie a tad cheaper since there won’t be any large crowd scenes. The interview with Kevin Smith was originally conducted by Comic Book.
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