Ben Affleck Might Play a Dark, Gritty Bluntman in 'Jay & Silent Bob Reboot'
Is Ben Affleck about to spoof himself in Kevin Smith's next movie?
by Eric FranciscoKevin Smith is going back to his View Askewniverse this year, and he may bring a very old friend. On social media, former Batman actor Ben Affleck may have teased his role in Smith’s parody of dark superhero reboots in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, which will premiere its trailer at San Diego Comic-Con.
On Tuesday, director Kevin Smith shared on Instagram and Twitter concept art for Bluntman and Chronic, the fictional movie-within-a-movie that, in Smith’s universe, is a dark reboot of the 2001 superhero film that starred James Van Der Beek and Jason Biggs. In his long Instagram caption, Smith revealed the trailer for Jay & Silent Bob Reboot will debut at Comic-Con on Saturday night (July 20), along with a “scene” from the fictional Bluntman and Chronic movie.
The new actor for Bluntman has yet to be revealed, but could be Ben Affleck. On Wednesday, several hours after Smith’s tweet, Ben Affleck replied to Smith, “Snoochie boochies,” a catchphrase from Smith’s films.
Given the obvious allusions to the DC franchise in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, including the very DCEU-esque costumes of Bluntman and Chronic, one has to wonder: Is Ben Affleck starring in the movie as a parody of his Batman, Bluntman? One only need to look at the extremely Batman v Superman-inspired Bluntman to think it’s not far-fetched.
In Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, out in theaters this fall, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) re-embark on their journey to L.A. to stop production of a reboot of Bluntman and Chronic, the same superhero movie they tried to stop in 2001’s Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. As established in the 1996 rom-com Chasing Amy (which starred Affleck as Holden, a comic book writer), Bluntman and Chronic are riffs on Jay and Silent Bob, who are owed royalty checks for their likenesses that studios keep refusing to pay.
In addition to Affleck potentially poking fun at his own career, it’s the possible reconnection between Affleck and Smith that remains intriguing. After starring in Smith’s movies, including Chasing Amy (1996), Dogma (1999), and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), the two had a personal falling out that Smith attributed to his own “big mouth”. Directing Jersey Girl (2004) probably also didn’t help.
Ben Affleck's tweet at Kevin Smith. The two have not publicly spoken to one another in years.
The two allegedly have not spoken in years; when Smith survived a near fatal heart attack in February 2018, Smith said Affleck never reached out to him. This one-way tweet exchange between Affleck and Smith (Smith has yet to acknowledge Affleck’s tweet) is the first interaction the two figures have had, at least in public.
Meanwhile, Smith has confirmed the actor of the rebooted Chronic: Melissa Benoist, another DC actor who stars in The CW’s Supergirl, will appear in the film as Chronic. Smith has directed several episodes of The CW series and, based on social media posts, maintains a close friendship with the cast.
Whether or not Affleck and Benoist are actually playing superhero parodies of themselves in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, one thing is for sure: Affleck will still have been the bomb in Phantoms.
