Kevin Smith was part of the early-1990s “Sundance Kids” class of Generation-X filmmakers, alongside Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater and others, who broke big amid the mainstreaming moment of American independent film. But while many of his contemporaries have moved on to new phases of their careers, Smith has largely remained in his comfort zone: Making films with his own inner circle, directing superhero TV shows and selling speaking tours, podcasts and merch to his established fanbase – all to impressive success.
Now, it seems as though Smith is once again looking to dive back into his own nostalgia backlog: Posting a screencap to instagram implying that he’ll bring Jay & Silent Bob back from oblivion for a new adventure.
In the characteristically candid text accompanying the image, Smith explained that the new Jay & Silent Bob film – in which the title characters will return to Hollywood in order to thwart a reboot of the Bluntman & Chronic movie whose production they looked to thwart in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back – will be replacing the planned sequel to Clerks and sequel-series to Mallrats, both of which have been abandoned in pre-production:
“This is not a drill! This is an actual image from my laptop! Yes, Kids – @jayandsilentbob are coming back! … I’m getting eager to play with my old toys again in the inter-connected View Askewniverse I spent the first half of my career creating. And so all last month, I had the time of my life laughing while writing “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” – a fun flick in which the Jersey boys have to go back to Hollywood to stop a brand new reboot of the old “Bluntman & Chronic Movie” they hated so much. It’s a tongue-in-cheek, silly-ass satire that pokes fun at the movie business’s recent re-do obsession, featuring an all-star cast of cameos and familiar faces! And I already met with the good folks at Miramax and they’re into it, so I’m hoping we’ll be shooting in the summer!”
Portrayed by Smith himself and longtime collaborator Jason Mewes, Jay and Silent Bob originated as side characters in his debut feature Clerks and reprised that role in his follow-up Mallrats; their cross-film presence creating a shared continuity that Smith and his fans refer to as the View Askewniverse. They subsequently re-appeared in Chasing Amy, where their serving as the inspiration for the comic book superheroes “Bluntman & Chronic” was a key subplot, and became part of the main cast in the religious satire Dogma before headlining Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back – which was originally meant to end The Askewniverse until Smith revived the franchise (and the characters) in Clerks II after the failure of his Ben Affleck-starring romantic comedy Jersey Girl.
Although Smith says he met with Miramax (which released the original View Askewniverse features and holds some of the rights) and the studio is “into it”, it’s unknown whether they will release the final film or not.
We’ll keep you updated on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot as more information becomes available.
Kevin Smith Developing Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
I'll never understand why he was so reluctant to accept his status as Randal.
