Kevin Smith Talks Mallrats Sequel

Kevin Smith first hinted last Thursday on Twitter about a potential sequel to his 1995 cult classic, Mallrats.

We shoot CLERKS III in May. HIT SOMEBODY shoots September to Christmas. Then in Feb 2016, we do MOOSE JAWS. But after that? I smell a rat…

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) March 12, 2015

Mallrats was a film about the world of comic book collectors and comic book culture years before it would break through into the mainstream. Fans and media sites flooded the internet with anticipation that Smith would indeed be adding another chapter to his View Askewniverse, an intricately interconnected series of films including Mallrats as well as Clerks. (1994), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006) and now Clerks III, which is already in pre-production and set for release in 2016. The movies are all linked by characters, themes and events and each contains numerous references to the others. Smith later confirmed in a radio interview that he was indeed making a sequel.

Smith revealed on his Hollywood Babble-On podcast Monday that he’s leading the charge for this new project in part to pay tribute his former mentor James Jacks, the late producer of the first Mallrats film as well as other notable works such as Dazed and Confused (1993) and The Mummy (1999). Jacks passed away early last year.

“I wannna honor the man in some way and this is how we’re gonna do it. We’re gonna finally make the movie I wish to christ I made when he was living, man. So were finally going to make Mallrats 2.”

Which cast members or characters will be returning is still unclear at this point. It would be difficult to imagine the story without Jason Lee, whose breakout role of Brodie Bruce in the original film earned him universal acclaim. Smith did state online that he is looking to bring back the villain Svenning to the franchise if he can secure actor Michael Rooker once again.

Smith has already begun hinting at what some of the other characters from the first film may have been up to these past twenty years.

Will we get to meet Banner Bruce? Reportedly the script is already half complete. Smith’s hints seems to indicate that he is looking to include Lee and Shannon Doherty’s characters once again, assuming they are on board to do it as well.

What is still largely unknown is what the movie will be about. What will be the tone of it be? While they are all comedies, Smith’s films typically have an underlying message within them dealing with the human condition. Clerks II dealt with the transition from adolescence into adulthood and taking responsibility but where the Mallrats series will go is still very much unknown and speculative at this point.

Are you excited about a Mallrats sequel? What do you think it will be about? Let us know in the comments below.