Ken Smith has been a pretty busy guy the past couple of years between directing the films Tusk and Yoga HOsers and episodes of The Flash, Supergirl and The Goldbergs. But a number of fans have been wondering what was the status of two other films he had announced he had in development – Clerks III and Mallrats 2.
Well, this afternoon, the director released some news that might disappoint those waiting for these two returns to his filmmaking roots. In a post on Facebook, Smith announced that both Clerks III and Mallrats 2 are dead projects. But in a silver lining to that dark cloud, Smith also revealed that he is working on another film set in the View Askewniverse of his early connected comedies – Jay And Silent Bob Reboot.
This is not a drill! This is an actual image from my laptop! Yes, Kids – Jay and Silent Bob are coming back! Here's the…
Posted by Kevin Smith on Thursday, February 9, 2017
I am certainly disappointed that Clerks III is not happening, as I liked the idea of checking in on counter jockeys Dante and Randall periodically to see how their lives are going. And I wish that Smith hadn’t said “one of our four leads opted out of the flick” because that is only going fuel some fierce speculation among fans and open up the most likely suspect to some anger coming their way. I’m also sorry to see that Mallrats 2 isn’t happening, and while he doesn’t mention it, I am wondering how much Shannon Doughtery’s current struggles with cancer played into that decision.
But Jay And Silent Bob Reboot sounds like a lot of fun. And the idea of using what is essentially a franchise film to mock franchise films holds a lot of promise. It has been a decade since we last saw anyone from Smith’s comedic version of New Jersey and it feels like a good time to revisit his skewed vision of the Garden State.
