If you’ve been following the casting for Kevin Smith’s Mallrats 2, you know that he has managed to secure almost the entire cast of the original film to reprise their roles for the comedy sequel. But there has been notable name that has not yet been confirmed – Ben Affleck. Not to worry though, Smith does have a space in the script for Affleck to return to once again play the antagonistic manager of Fashionable Male, Shannon Hamilton, but if not, it won’t damage the story either.
Speaking at an appearance at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville, Tennessee as part of the Wild West Comedy Festival (via Comic Book), Smith stated –
I have not reached out to him yet. I am waiting until we have everybody. There’s two more people I want to collect, and that way I have everybody, and I can be like, ‘Come, on dude, even Gil Hicks [the gameshow contestant character played by Brian O’Halloran] is back.’ Now, chances are kind of slim, because he’s Batman now.
Smith pointed out that Affleck’s busy schedule may prohibit it from participating and that the two have not had a chance to speak in two years. But Affleck’s return would be just a small part of the film and if he is unavailable there wouldn’t be a negative impact on the film.
The good news is that we can do it without him if we have to. The even better news is the piece he would play is not like I would need him for a week, he’s in and out. It would be quick… We’ll see whether twenty years of history means anything or it’s like, ‘Sorry, I’ve got Gotham City to protect now.’
In the original 1995 film, Affleck’s character was the new, douchbag boyfriend of Rene (Shannen Doherty) and had no respect for her ex-boyfriend Brodie’s (Jason Lee) lack of shopping agenda. He was seen in the closing moments of the film in prison, having sex in an uncomfortable place. And it wasn’t the back of a Volkswagen.
Smith will be shooting Mallrats 2 later this year, primarily in the Philadelphia area, but will have two days of shooting Los Angeles as well.
