Kevin Smith on Reuniting with Ben Affleck After Major Fallout: I Got My 'Friend Back'

Kevin Smith is over the moon about reuniting with Ben Affleck.

The 49-year-old actor stars in the upcoming Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which sees Affleck, 47, make a cameo in what is his seventh appearance in a Smith movie, according to Variety.

“[Ben] coming back was everything,” Smith told the outlet. “Not only did I get to add that character, Holden, who he played in Chasing Amy back into the mix, but it’s one of the best scenes in the movie.”

To Smith, having Affleck appear in his film was like getting “his friend back.”

“We didn’t even have [Affleck’s role] in the flick when we started shooting,” Smith said. “We shot it on the last day, and I wrote it like a week before wrap.”

In July, Smith revealed Affleck would appear in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot when he shared a selfie of himself and the actor on Instagram, explaining in a lengthy caption how the two friends had reconciled after years of estrangement.

“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 wrote.

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 wrote 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.

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“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.'”

“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 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.

Smith’s film also stars Jason Mewes and Smith’s daughter Harley Quinn Smith, with cameos by Matt Damon, Val Kilmer, Jason Lee, Shannon Elizabeth, Melissa Benoist and Frankie Shaw.

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is in theaters Oct. 15.