You can count on seeing Ben Affleck in Clerks III. Over the years, Affleck has often appeared in Kevin Smith movies, dating back to the Clerks director's second film Mallrats. He had a cameo in 2006's Clerks II along with roles in other Smith films including Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Jersey Girl. More recently, Affleck had a special appearance in Smith's 2019 movie Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

Needless to say, Affleck has long been a mainstay in Smith movies. Given his history, it was not surprising to see Affleck briefly appear in the Clerks III trailer. In the trailer, Affleck can be seen as one of a handful of actors showing up to audition for a role in the movie Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) is shooting at the Quick Stop. On Friday, Smith took to social media to post an image of himself with the actor to celebrate Affleck's appearance in the movie.

"If folks were stoked to see Ben Affleck in the trailer for the new Clerks, just imagine how happy *I* was to have Batman himself in the flick!" Smith exclaimed. "I know he’s a super star celebrity known worldwide for acting, directing, and being Ben Affleck - but among his many accomplishments, Ben is also one of my co-architects of the ViewAskewniverse. He’s been boots on the ground in my fake New Jersey since Mallrats in 1995. And Chasing Amy was written specifically for him, based on his personality - so bits of Ben are baked into the creative DNA any time I return to View Askew to play with my life-sized action figures."

Revealing Affleck's role, Smith adds, "For those Askewniverse addicts who’ve asked, Ben’s not playing Bluntman and Chronic co-creator Holden McNeil, or Fashionable Male Shannon Hamilton, or renegade angel Bartleby from Dogma, or Ben Affleck, or any of the callback characters he’s ever portrayed in one of my flicks. Ben’s playing someone new this time around (with a sentimental sobriquet stolen from our old message board at ViewAskew dot com). But when he rolled up on set to shoot the auditions montage (briefly glimpsed in the trailer), he was just good ol’ Ben - the funny-ass friend who’s been in over half of the 15 movies I’ve been lucky enough to direct since 1993."

Related: Ben Affleck's Best Movies from the 90s, Ranked

Ben Affleck Is One of Many Cameos in Clerks III

Clerks III Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today
Lionsgate

Kevin Smith says that Ben Affleck is one of many surprise cameos to be featured in Clerks III. We can presume that many fan favorite from the previous Clerks movies, along with Smith's other films, are liable to appear. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson lead the cast as Dante and Randal alongside Smith and Jay Mewes as Silent Bob and Jay. Other stars featured include Trevor Fehrman, Marilyn Ghigilotti, Scott Schiaffo, and Rosario Dawson.

In the film, Randal Graves has a near-fatal heart attack, and based on the advice of Dante, he decides to make his own movie at Quick Stop Groceries. The movie gets meta as Randal recreates shots that were actually shown in the original Clerks movie, taking Smith's career full circle.

Clerks III will play in theaters on Sept. 13 and Sept. 15, courtesy of Fathom Events. Smith is also taking the show on the road for what he calls "The Convenience Tour," and you can check out the dates by heading to the official website.