2018 almost saw the untimely demise of comedic director Kevin Smith. The Jersey native suffered a massive heart attack that nearly cost him his life. However, much like Bluntman rising from the ashes and smoke of a weed pit, Smith returned to have a life altering 2019. Smith dropped a ton of weight, turned Vegan, got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had CLERKS accepted into the Library of Congress, and returned to the View Askew universe with JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT. It's astonishing the difference a year can make.
Not one to sit back comfortably on his bong, Kevin Smith is already kicking off the New Year in a big way. He's about to take JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT on the second half of his road show and his script for CLERKS III is well underway. While not as popular or well regarded as his freshman debut, Smith's sophomore effort MALLRATS is considered to be a cult classic. The 1995 film starring Jason Lee, Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, and a young Ben Affleck follows slacker Brodie (Lee) as he traverses the local mall looking for Coke with no ice and trying to avoid security cop LaFours. Well if you've always desired more Brodie adventures you are in luck. According to Smith's latest Instagram post, a sequel to MALLRATS is back on:
I have to admit TWILIGHT OF THE MALLRATS has a nice ring to it. I'm curious to see if the film will have any sparkly vampire references.
This is not the first time Kevin Smith has tried to get a MALLRATS sequel off the ground but the third. The first came in March 2015 when Smith announced that the then titled MALLBRATS was in the works. A year later the film evolved into a ten episode television series. However, after Smith was unable to sell the show to any network the project was shelved indefinitely…until now.
It's important to note that TWILIGHT OF THE MALLRATS is in its infancy at this point. Smith has just begun on the script, none of the original actors are currently attached, and the film doesn't even have financing yet. The same can be said for CLERKS III. While I'm hopeful that both projects will come to fruition, I have my doubts. It's a wonder that JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT even got made and the fact that Smith had to take the film on the road implies there's just not as big of a draw for Kevin Smith films as there used to be.
If you're interested in checking out the JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT roadshow, the second half kicks off January 10 in Oakland and will be in twenty-five cities through February 26 culminating in New Orleans, Louisiana.