Kevin Smith Opens Up About Reuniting with Ben Affleck for Upcoming Film After Fallout

After not speaking for “nearly a decade,” Ben Affleck and filmmaker Kevin Smith have reunited.

Affleck, 46, appears in Smith’s upcoming film Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, a sequel to 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but also to every film Smith has made, including Chasing Amy, Mallrats and Dogma.

While at San Diego Comic-Con this week, Smith, 48, shared a happy selfie with Affleck on Instagram and explained in a lengthy caption how the old friends reconciled after years of estrangement.

Smith wrote that Affleck reprises his role as Holden from Chasing Amy in the upcoming film — but the scene that the filmmaker now calls “magical and life-affirming” almost didn’t happen.

“When we started shooting the movie, the scene didn’t exist. This scene — and more importantly, my reunion with a guy who I’ve missed terribly for nearly a decade — only happened because of [entertainment journalist Kevin McCarthy],” Smith revealed.

Smith explained that while McCarthy was conducting a recent interview with Affleck, the journalist asked if he had been contacted for the Jay and Silent Bob reboot. “Ben said no, but he was available,” Smith wrote.

Smith then explained that he thought Affleck wasn’t being “serious” in the interview, but the director “finally” reached out to the star after other people encouraged him to.

“I was scared to be rejected, but I texted him, ‘To paraphrase the sad old King Osric in Conan the Barbarian? There comes a time when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a director’s love for the people he used to make pretend with,'” Smith said. “And after a long beat of wondering how he’d receive this, my estranged friend wrote back as only he could: ‘Of course you still liken yourself to a king,’ he joked. And then ‘Would be a pleasure to see you again, Old Man.’ “

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“So naturally, weepy me — who breaks down emotionally during comic book flicks — was a blubbery mess,” Smith wrote. “Not only did we score an amazing scene for the flick, but I also got my friend back — all because of entertainment journalism.”

Smith added, “It … brought back a massive missing piece of my heart.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly earlier this week, Smith said, even though the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot scene with Affleck “didn’t exist when we started, when you watch the movie you can’t imagine that movie existing without it.”

“Not only did I get that guy in my movie and the scene is fantastic — it’s honestly one of Ben’s finest moments of his career — he gave me my friend back, more importantly,” Smith said. “I haven’t spoken to that dude in eight years. There was a piece of my heart that was missing … To have that back was everything.”

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In March, Affleck spoke about possibly working with Smith again in an interview with Collider.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Affleck said when asked if fans would see his character, Holden, in Smith’s upcoming film. “I haven’t been asked to make an appearance, but you never know, there’s still time. We’ll see. I think if it was up to me, I would rather do Holden than Shannon but I would defer to Kevin.”

In November, a Twitter user asked Smith about their relationship, writing, “Sometimes I wonder what really happened between Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith that made them not talk to each other,” tagging both stars’ accounts.

Smith responded, “If I had to guess? It’s because one of us has a big mouth and told too many candid stories that sometimes weren’t his to tell, and the other one is Ben.”

Affleck has starred in six films directed by Smith, all of which were released over the course of a decade.