Kevin Smith Confirms 'Mallrats 2' is in the Works
Kevin Smith has officially confirmed that a sequel to Mallrats is in the works and will begin production sometime in 2016.
Smith has created films that appealed directly to his fans – Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back – as well as those that were widely criticised, such as Jersey Girl. Now, in response to reports that Smith is still planning to retire after Clerks III, the director tweeted his upcoming plans, which included a tease for another sequel to one of his films from the ’90s.
Smith tweeted out the following message:
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... — Kevin Smith (@ThatKevinSmith)
Currently, he said there’s only half a script, but they’re planning to begin filming in May 2016. Since the sequel to Mallrats is still very early on in development, little is known about the movie, such as who will return from the original, if anyone.
How Smith reconciles the premise and characters from his original film with current popular culture remains to be seen. Given his comments about Mallrats 2, Smith seems to be aiming to make a film he’ll enjoy rather than one that will garner critical praise.
UPDATE #1 - SMITH EXPLAINS MOVIES ORIGIN
“I hate to disappoint people but, yes, I am doing a Mallrats sequel,” Smith started the Hollywood Babble-On podcast. Smith told listeners the reason why he’s decided to do Mallrats 2, twenty years on from the original. "It’s simple, producer James Jacks." It had been a joke between the two that one day they'd make a Mallrats sequel, but last year, Jacks passed away and Smith believes it would be a fitting tribute to do the movie Jacks always wanted to see. Below is the full transcribe from the podcast of Smith explaining the reasons behind the Mallrats sequel:
About a year and change ago now Jim Jacks, who was a producer on Mallrats, died. And we talked about him during the show and what a good dude he was….Mallrats came out and died at the box office. It only found an audience later on. But for years Jim Jacks would always be like “We should do a sequel.” Because when we were making the movie he was like “This is gonna make $100 million.” He was obviously off his fuckin’ rocker. But he was like “You’ve gotta come up with a sequel.” “And I was like, “I have one already.” “What is it?” Mallrats 2: Die Hard in a Mall. And he was like “Oh thats perfect we’ll do it.”
So the movie came out, didn’t do any business and no talk of a sequel ever came up again at the studio and what not. But Jim Jacks never fucking lost faith. Even when I would kick Mallrats and make fun of it, Jacks was always the guy going “No man. Know what would be funny and what’s gonna redeem us? Mallrats 2: Die Hard in a Mall.” So it was one of those things that was an on going theme in his life.
As I said, he passed away a year ago. I had lost touch with him for quite a few years before that and this was the biggest fucking fan of movies you’ve ever known in your life. And Clerks was the thing that kicked off my career but Mallrats brought me into a complete different world and that movie doesn’t get made without this dude at Universal going “Let’s make it, let’s make it.” So I felt real shitty about missing the last years of his life and I met some people who were like, “We ate with Jim every fucking Thursday night and he still talked about you.” I hadn’t seen him in years and he was still talking about me and that movie. So a year ago I was sitting here talking about this shit and I was like “I wanna 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.
Though it may sound like Smith is making Mallrats 2: Die Hard in a Mall, I don’t think that’s 100% confirmed. Maybe that’s the angle, or maybe he’s going with another angle. We don’t know. What we do know from a radio interview the director did is the script is half way done and they’re beginning to look for financing. He’s got three projects he wants to to beforehand, but he’s eyeing May 2016 for the start date.
update #2 - KEVIN SMITH CONFIrMS returning cast
Mallrats 2 continues to fill up its cast positions with the recent addition of Ethan Suplee. Director Kevin Smith announced the news on Instagram this week.
Suplee joins original Mallrats co-stars Jason Lee, Shannon Doherty, Michael Rooker, Stan Lee, and Jason Mewes. And, as expected, Smith will also reprise his role as Silent Bob. Not yet confirmed to return are Claire Forlani, Jeremy London, Joey Lauren Adams, Ben Affleck, and Renée Humphrey.
