Kevin Smith Has Used His Quarantine Time to Pen a Sequel to Mallrats

While there’s no mandate saying you have to be productive while in quarantine, some people have used the time in isolation to their advantage. William Shakespeare wrote King Lear while the bubonic plague ripped through Europe in the 17th century. Isaac Newton made great strides a few decades later, advancing his calculus work and laying the foundation for his theory of gravity.

Now, as we face a new period of required sheltering, writer and director Kevin Smith has announced he has completed a draft of Twilight of the Mallrats.

The script, which follows up on the events of Smith’s 1995 retail slacker cult movie Mallrats, is set against what Smith called the “mallpocalypse,” or the erosion of shopping malls in recent years. Citing their characters in an Instagram post, Smith expects actors Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, and Michael Rooker to return. Jay and Silent Bob, the marijuana enthusiasts who have been featured prominently in many of Smith’s films and played by Jason Mewes and Smith, respectively, will also appear.

Many of Smith’s recurring characters made appearances in 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, including Brodie Bruce (Lee) of Mallrats fame. That film, Smith said, opened the door for Universal—which owns Mallrats—to consider a sequel.

In the past, Smith has discussed plans for a Mallrats television series, which the sequel will likely take the place of. He also intends to make Clerks 3, the second follow-up to the 1994 film that launched his career.

[h/t IndieWire]