Is This Mall Where Kevin Smith Will Be Filming MALLRATS 2?

The old saying goes that the most import thing in real estate is “Location, location, location.” And that definitely goes for movies as well. Kevin Smith has found the location that he wants to shoot his sequel Mallrats 2 at and it is so perfect that he has rearranged his shooting schedule to be able to use it before it “goes away.” So where is this perfect location which Smith has stated “we all dig”? I think I have the answer.

But first, a little background.

Smith initially was set to shoot Clerks 3 this summer with Mallrats 2 following either later in the year or early next year. When he made that announcement, it got me thinking. His original plan to shoot Clerks 3 in the Philadelphia area came about due to some tax incentives he was receiving from the state, an important factor considering that he was working with a small budget for the film.I suspected that Smith was probably going to shoot Mallrats 2 in Pennsylvania as well to take advantage of the tax credits, but it wasn’t until Monday’s story about his hope to get Ben Affleck to return for the film did we receive definite word that he would be shooting in the PA.

Having lived in the Philadelphia area for a time, I knew that there was a suburban mall in the town of Media that had fallen on hard times and was going to be closed and have a portion of it demolished by the end of the end year – the Granite Run Mall.

Built in 1974, the Mall has space to house approximately 125 businesses, but now only a handful remain, including just two of its three anchor stores. Current plans call for a portion of the mall to be razed to make room for the construction of two luxury apartment buildings and a new movie theater. If Smith is looking for a spot where he can “blow the f—ing mall up, which happens in the third act [of Mallrats 2]”, I tend to think that this would be a good location to do so. Mall management will probably not care about the fact that Smith and company could be causing some mayhem and destruction as the mall will be under the wrecking ball soon anyway.

I took a walk through the Mall just a few days ago and found it fairly deserted, with only a few shoppers trekking from the Sears on one end to the Boscovs on the other. Less than a dozen storefronts remain open but there didn’t appear to be anyone inside except for bored employees trying to find something to keep themselves busy. As someone who routinely went there seven or eight years ago – The mall was home to my local comics shop, Showcase Comics, at the time – I was surprised and a little saddened by what I saw there. But perhaps it will gain a little shot of immortality by being preserved in film.

As of right now, I feel pretty confident about the picture being created by the dots that I’ve joined together. Ive reached out to the Mall’s management, but have received no response.