Kevin Smith Has The Perfect Replacement For The Late Alan Rickman In Dogma 2 [Exclusive]
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One of the greatest losses Hollywood endured in the past decade was that of Alan Rickman. After a battle with pancreatic cancer, Rickman passed away in 2016 at the age of 69. He left behind a legacy of incredible performances, from his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company to his iconic villain performances as Hans Gruber in "Die Hard" and the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." Not to mention, his beloved turn as Professor Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" franchise.
Perhaps one of the actor's more under-appreciated roles came in Kevin Smith's "Dogma," where the British thespian played Metatron, a seraph who acts as the voice of God, often not able to hide his frustration with humanity. Rickman brought his signature wry delivery and plenty of gravitas to the role, and it's a shame he's no longer around to reprise the role in "Dogma 2," a sequel that Smith is currently working on after recently regaining the rights to the movie and re-releasing it on 4K for physical media and digital retailers. However, the filmmaker has already thought about how he'd want to carry on Rickman's legacy with the perfect replacement.
If all goes well, Smith is hoping to have "The Queen" star Helen Mirren step up to fill the gap left behind by the dearly departed Alan Rickman.
Helen Mirren would play a new version of Metatron, but not the same character
Alan Rickman and Helen Mirren once shared the screen in the drone thriller "Eye in the Sky," but perhaps more significantly, they played the titular roles in "Antony and Cleopatra" back in 1998. Mirren once reflected on their time together to Vanity Fair:
"It was difficult because he stepped in at the last minute when the actor who was originally playing the role dropped out ... He came in and very courageously jumped in. 'Antony and Cleopatra' is an extremely emotionally demanding play ... He was extremely generous on stage."
Should Smith get his way, Mirren (seen above in "Thursday Murder Club" on Netflix) will be able to honor Rickman by taking on a role in "Dogma 2" in place of Metatron. Smith revealed to us in an interview for the /Film Weekly Podcast:
"I want to write it for Helen Mirren. She is incredibly Alan-adjacent. She's not playing Metatron, but she plays this movie's version of Metatron. For me, I met her years ago with Alan, at this Empire movie awards ceremony. When I was thinking, 'Well, I don't have Alan," at one point I was like, "Well, Adam Driver looks like a young Alan Rickman, just taller.' But then I was like, no. Then I thought, 'You know what? Helen Mirren, aside from being one of my favorite actors on the planet, I had that crossover moment with her and Alan at one point.' As a writer and a romantic, you'll make any connection or any justification you can. But it started me thinking, maybe it would be Helen Mirren. So I'm writing it for Helen Mirren."
Smith is right on the money when it comes to describing Mirren as being "incredibly Alan-adjacent." She can be powerfully dramatic when called for, but she can also bring some fun attitude to the proceedings, such as her roles in the "Fast and Furious" and "RED" franchises, so I could easily see her being a new version of Metatron in "Dogma 2." Let's just hope the timing works out, and Mirren is willing to honor her friend with such a role.