For the first time since 1995, Shannon Hamilton, the character played by Ben Affleck in Mallrats, wil return to the View Askewniverse, according to filmmaker Kevin Smith. During a livestream onJason Mewes’s Twitch channel and Smith’s own social media channels (embedded below), Smith told fans that not only is Shannon Hamilton in the script, but that Affleck has said he is willing to return to the character, last seen being sent away on statutory rape charges after hooking up with a 15-year-old girl as part of an academic study on sex. Smith had previously said that Hamilton appeared in the script, but at that point had not yet spoken with the actor.
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According to a previous interview, Affleck’s role in the movie would be small but pivotal, setting the events of the film in motion. Smith also said during today’s livestream that the end-credits scenes from Mallrats, which included Brandy (Claire Forlani) and TS (Jeremy London) getting married, Brodie (Jason Lee) becoming the host of The Tonight Show, and Shannon going to jail, will be addressed in the forthcoming sequel.
“He’s written in there — Shannon Hamilton’s in there, and the actual guy told me he’s into it, so fingers crossed, it’s looking good,” Smith told the fan who asked about Affleck’s chances of appearing in the sequel.
Later, he told another fan who asked about the post-credits sequences, “They will be, yes. I don’t want to say anything more but yes, everything comes into play.”
Most of the characters from Mallrats, a film that was distributed by Universal Pictures, have been largely absent from other films Smith has made. The notable exception, Brodie Bruce, appeared in both Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back and Jay & Silent Bob Reboot — ironically, both times in a brief cameo that set the events of the story in motion.
Lee’s Brodie will headline the next film, with Aparna Brielle (Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, A.P. Bio) set to star as his daughter Banner. Shannen Doherty, who played Brodie’s girlfriend Renee in the original film, is expected to return as well; in Reboot, it was established that the pair are still married, albeit not entirely happily.
There has been no word yet as to whether Forlani, London, or some other characters will return, although it’s expected that Ethan Supplee will return as Willam Black and Michael Rooker will return as Mr. Svenning, Brandy’s conniving, ambitious father.
Smith’s previous film, Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming video on demand. His next movie, Twilight of the Mallrats, is set to go into production once the travel and production restrictions in place for the pandemic are lifted.
