MALLRATS 2 gains momentum as Kevin Smith recruits original cast

Mallrats

MALLRATS 2 is happening. Yes, Kevin Smith is bringing his fanbase back to the mall and he didn’t even have to bribe them with his chocolate-covered pretzels.

Smith slyly announced the sequel to his 1995 film a little over a week ago over social media platforms when he posted:

Saw some websites are reporting CLERKS III will be my last flick. I did say this at one point, but Tusk changed all that. Now, the next 2 years are booked. We shoot CLERKS III in May. The HIT SOMEBODY hockey miniseries finally follows in the fall, shooting September to Christmas 2015. Then in Feb/March 2016, we tackle MOOSE JAWS and ANTI-CLAUS. And after that? I smell a rat…

As soon as that message went live, media/social media outlets began to speculate whether the final line in his post meant that a MALLRATS 2 was in the works. Shortly after on one of his recent Hollywood Babble-On podcasts, Smith stated after reading a tweet directed to him, “I hate to disappoint people but, yes, I am doing a MALLRATS sequel.” He followed by telling the listeners that he’s doing it now, 20 years later, because of the original film’s producer, the late James Jacks.

Jim Jacks never f***ing 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 ongoing 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 f***ing 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 s**tty about missing the last years of his life and I met some people who were like, “We ate with Jim every f***ing 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 s**t 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 we’re finally going to make MALLRATS 2.”

And since that announcement, Smith hasn’t slowed down the MALLRATS train whatsoever. Even though he (apparently) has four projects in-between now and MALLRATS 2, all of his recent tweets over Twitter have revolved around the sequel to his fan-favorite classic. Last week while on a local Tuscon radio show, he said, “It’s half a script right now, and we’re pulling our loot together. We’ve got up until the beginning of 2016. By the time we get to May 2016, we’re going to be shooting.”

Smith’s new scheme has been to reveal the returning cast through a series of online photos (seen below). Thus far, confirmed for the sequel are Smith, Jason Mewes, Jason Lee, Shannen Doherty, Michael Rooker, and even Stan ‘The Man’ Lee. With each new photo, Smith’s been counting down. With his most recent announcement — the return of Jason Lee — Smith wrote, “6 down, 6 to go. Collect ’em all!”

So, what say you? Are you excited for a sequel to MALLRATS? Personally, I’m ecstatic! Lots of fond memories of watching the original film with my brother back in the day.

We’ll continue the MALLRATS 2 coverage as it escalutes (hopefully without a kid riding it)!

About the author

NINJA | Ken loves comics, video games, and film -- especially creature features and giant monster flicks. When he's not stalking the shadows as part of the Ninja Clan, he spends his time obsessively collecting ThunderCats, King Kong, and Pacific Rim memorabilia.