Kevin Smith has revealed how he was able to get Val Kilmer to play Bluntman inJay and Silent Bob Reboot. Smith surprised 2019 Comic-Con attendees by sharing the first trailer for the highly anticipated movie a few days early and fans were shocked to see Kilmer as Bluntman. The director had previously teased he was able to get multiple Batman actors in the movie, and Kilmer was obviously one of them.
Now that the trailer has been out for a full week,Kevin Smithhas decided he can start talking about it some more.Val Kilmerrecently shot his scenes forTop Gun: Maverick, but other than that, he’s pretty much been laying low after his lengthy battle with throat cancer. Kilmer is playing the rebooted version of Bluntman inJay & Silent Bob Rebootand Smith first talked about how lucky they were to get him. He explains.
“BluntmanForever! The trailer forJay & Silent Bob Reboothas been out for a week, so folks now know we were lucky enough to score the legendary Val Kilmer as the real star of our fake movie-within-a-movie, Bluntman V Chronic! That’s right: Batman plays Bluntman and Supergirl Melissa Benoist plays Chronic in the rebooted movie that Jay and Silent Bob are trying to stop!”
As for getting Val Kilmer involved withJay & Silent Bob Reboot, it took a little convincing from Kevin Smith. The actor’s bout with throat cancer required a procedure on his trachea which made his voice raspy and left him short of breath, which made him apprehensive about joining up right away. However, Smith wasn’t worried about it and had the perfect cameo for him. Smith had this to say.
“As a lifelongReal Geniusfan who stole parts of his personality from Val’s Chris Knight character, this was a bit of dream casting for me - and it came together very organically. I got a text from Val’s producer, inviting me to Val’s Citizen Twain show when it was in the Nola area. He also gave me Val’s email and encouraged me to reach out. So we became Pen Pals, during which time he told me he’d already shot his stuff on (the)Top Gunmovie. So I hit Val up about coming to play with us on Reboot while he was in town. Val wrote, ‘I don’t know if you’ve heard, but my voice isn’t quite back yet. Perhaps I can play some poor cousin to Silent Bob?’ I wrote back, ‘I think I’ve got the perfect cameo for you, if you’re cool with it.’ And thus, Bluntman began!”
We didn’t hear Val Kilmer speak in theJay & Silent Bob Reboot Comic-Con trailer, but having a raspy voice lends itself to theBatmancharacter very well. It’s possible Kevin Smith used the actor’s current voice as the perfect tool for Bluntman. Smith went on to talk about how much he enjoyed his time with Kilmer. He had this to say about his experience with Kilmer as a fan and a peer.
“We only did it for a day, but working with the genius who gave us Doc Holliday in theTomb Stoneand resurrected Jim Morrison inThe Doorswas a highlight of my 25 year career. Val was crushing on film while I was still just a member of the audience. And he wasn’t just a movie star, he was always one of our best, most committed actors. So years after I watched him in theWillowmovie (as) Madmartigan - the greatest swordsman who ever lived - lent us his iconic star power AND his winning smile as our rebooted Bluntman! He’s Ice Man, Batman, Bluntman and just a flat-out good man!”
Val Kilmer recently appeared in New York to give a speech at the United Nations Headquarters for the NOVUS Summit SDG Moonshots. He was honored for his work with the TwainMania Foundation, which was created to educate children on author Mark Twain’s legacy. While Kilmer has stepped out of the spotlight recently, it appears he is ready to get back. He’ll be seen next on the big screen in Kevin Smith’sJay & Silent Bob Reboot. you may check out a new picture of Kilmer as Bluntman below, thanks toKevin Smith’s Instagramaccount.
