Kevin Smith Might Have a Role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Says JJ Abrams

“By the way, could he be in better shape right now?..Now he’s a specimen..Now I find myself [...]

"There's more lens flare than a J.J. Abrams movie in here," Jay (Jason Mewes) jokes in a deleted scene from Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, directed by indie filmmaker and geek icon Kevin Smith. Smith's character, Silent Bob, nods his head and the pair move on. That scene might become something of a predictor of things to come, because Abrams teased during an interview with entertainment journalist Kevin McCarthy that Smith might actually have a role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. If that were the case, it would be the culmination of 25 years of jokes, references, and loving homages by Smith and directed at the Star Wars franchise.

In his debut 1994 film Clerks, Smith wrote a pair of characters arguing about the ethics of destroying the second (in-construction) Death Star, since many of those on board were likely not Imperial sympathizers, but contractors who were guilty of nothing. The scene was so memorable that it actually came to the attention of George Lucas, who responded to it in the bonus features on the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones DVD.

...Yes, really. Check it out.

Well, it seems as though during Smith's visit to the set of the final installment of the Skywalker Saga, Abrams may have invited his friend to appear in the movie. It came up when McCarthy asked if it was true that Smith almost saw the very end of the movie being filmed, but that Abrams had dissuaded him from going to look.

"In fairness, when Kevin was there, and he may or may not be in the film — I'm not going to say; I'm just going to say he may or may not appear in the film. When Kevin was there, I know that I was in the middle of what was, as it was for the entire shoot, a bit of just mad distraction," Abrams said. "There were 8 million things going on. This very well may have happened exactly as you described."

Smith played a stoner superhero called Bluntman -- or at least, he played Silent Bob playing Bluntman in a movie-within-the-movie for 2001's Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. In that film, he had a "bongsaber" duel with Mark Hamill, who (among other things) called out "don't f--k with the Jedi Master, son."

Abrams went on to say that while he did not remember Smith being on set exactly when the final shot was being done, he did remember "a thing" that Smith might have seen from the end of the movie during those days. He said that maybe, if he did talk Smith out of it, he shouldn't have, since obviously something like that "wouldn't have broken him."

"By the way, could he in better shape right now?" Abrams said of Smith, who has lost about half his body weight after become a vegan and getting very serious about his health following a recent heart attack. "The guy, he's a specimen….I now find myself simply in awe of his physique.

"In fairness, when Kevin was there, and he may or may not be in the film — I'm not going to say; I'm just going to say he may or may not appear in the film…By the way, could he in better shape right now? The guy, he's a specimen….I now find myself simply in awe of his physique."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher.

Are you excited about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Let us know how you feel about it in the comments. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20th.

Star Wars is also headed to the Disney+ streaming service. The Mandalorian is now streaming on DIsney+. A show following Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the works, with Ewan MacGregor returning to the role. A series about Rogue One's Cassian Andor is also in development.

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