Twilight of the Mallrats: Kevin Smith Says Ben Affleck Asked For a Bigger Role, Reveals COVID Will Be Mentioned

Kevin Smith is currently in Red Bank, New Jersey for the opening of his latest Mooby's pop-up as well as the Jay & Silent Bob Get Old 10th-anniversary event. ComicBook.com had a chance to catch up with Smith at Mooby's (which looks great!) and chat about some of his upcoming projects, including his Mallrats sequel, Twilight of the Mallrats. Smith shared that the pandemic will now play a role in the film and confirmed that Ben Affleck is interested in reprising his role. In fact, it sounds like Affleck wants a bigger part than Smith had originally intended.

"[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.'"

When asked about starting production, Smith said he's hoping to get things going next year.

"2021 is what we're hoping for," Smith said of filming the sequel. "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?"

"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. And I remember when I started doing that, 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.'"

"Absolutely," Smith confirmed of making COVID part of the story. "It can't not, and especially because we were telling a story about the death of the mall anyway. And this may be the final death knell for mass shopping. So yeah, it's in there. So the quarantine probably made the movie a little less expensive as well. Because like the earlier draft, was like big crowd scenes. And now it's like, no crowd scene... 12 people will do."

Are you excited about the Mallrats sequel? Tell us in the comments!