Dogma 2: Kevin Smith Drops Cryptic Clues About Ben Affleck’s Role

Dogma just hit 25 and got a shiny new 4K Blu-ray, which means everyone is back to asking the same question: is Kevin Smith finally doing Dogma 2, and does that bring Ben Affleck back as Bartleby? Smith has thoughts. And of course, they involve Hell.

Why this is bubbling up now

With the anniversary, Dogma is finally back on physical media in 4K. If you have followed Smith at all, you know he has been saying for years that he wanted the home video rights for the original squared away before chasing a sequel. Now that a disc exists, the sequel talk is heating up again.

What Smith is actually saying

Smith told ComicBook.com that he does want to make a follow-up, but he also knows he is the king of long runways. He has been trying to make his killer-shark-in-the-woods movie Moose Jaws for a decade and says that one is close, but a Dogma sequel would be easier to fund because people already know the brand.

'Before I leave this best of all possible worlds, absolutely.'

'Dogma will be much easier to get financed than Moose Jaws.'

Quick refresher on the first movie

Dogma starred Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as fallen angels Bartleby and Loki, who find a loophole that could get them back into heaven. The tiny catch: if they pull it off, the universe blinks out of existence. An abortion clinic worker teams up with two prophets to stop the apocalypse.

So where would Bartleby be in Dogma 2?

At the end of Dogma, Bartleby is killed by God and sent to Hell. Smith says he recently talked to Affleck and a sequel came up in that conversation. As for Bartleby’s fate in a second movie, it depends on how you look at the theology: some would argue forgiveness, Smith notes, but his own old-school Catholic streak leans the other way. That mindset would shape the sequel.

'If you are a touchy-feely Christian, you believe in forgiveness. But if you are an old-school Catholic like myself, they are burning in hell... They broke the laws... There is punishment there. So that plays into our follow-up.'

Where things stand right now

• Dogma is available to buy on 4K Blu-ray for its 25th anniversary.
• Smith still wants to make Dogma 2 and says it should be easier to finance than Moose Jaws.
• He recently spoke with Ben Affleck and mentioned the sequel, but there is no casting or production news yet.
• If Smith follows his own Catholic read of the ending, expect Bartleby’s story to pick up in a very warm place.