Kevin Smith is in the process of developing a sequel to MALLRATS that is slated to bring much of the original cast back, including Ben Affleck, who played Shannon Hamilton in the first film, the arch enemy of Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee) who also happens to be dating Bruce's ex-girlfriend. MALLRATS was one of Affleck's first major films and the actor would go on to star in or cameo in several of Kevin Smith's other movies, but they had something of a falling out that left many of Smith's recent projects Affleck-less. The pair have since reunited with Affeck even making a cameo appearance in JAY & SILENT BOB REBOOT, and it would seem that Affleck has personally requested a bigger role in the MALLRATS sequel.
Kevin Smith recently spoke with ComicBook.com, saying that although Ben Affleck was originally slated to make another cameo in the MALLRATS sequel, the actor requested something more substantial.
[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.'
Smith added that he's hoping that production on the MALLRATS sequel will be able to get underway sometime in 2021 and confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic will play a part in the story. Earlier this year, Smith said that the script was "being reformed" by the pandemic. "Because clearly this is something that affects us going forward, from now through all time," said Smith. "Nobody’s forgetting about this. This isn’t a minor blip in the history of humanity. Everything we do from here on in in the arts that reflects life is going to include this time in our history. It’s not like you can ignore it or something like that."