Kevin Smith says Dogma 2 will never happen. While Smith has become personally famous for many things, few of his works as a filmmaker have inspired as much discussion and debate as 1999's Dogma. The fourth film in Smith's View Askewniverse, Dogma is largely unlike anything else that the director has made, a trait that took many fans aback at the time of its release. While not a big hit financially, Dogma received better reviews from critics than many of Smith's other films, and has since earned a large cult following.
Featuring perhaps the most eclectic cast in the history of Smith's career, Dogma primarily focuses on Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino), who is - initially unbeknownst to her - the last descendant of Jesus Christ. Bethany is tasked by God's spokesman Metatron (Alan Rickman) with preventing banished angels Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon) from using a religious loophole to overrule God and reenter Heaven, thus proving the almighty fallible and ending all of existence. Accompanying her on this quest are regular Smith characters Jay and Silent Bob. Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, and George Carlin also star.
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While some fans have long wanted a follow-up to Dogma, there's never been any real forward momentum towards getting one made, outside of a well-known online post that Smith made back in 2005. In that post, Smith revealed a Dogma sequel idea he had first thought of after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which would have featured the apocalypse in the third act. At the time though, Smith also expressed hesitation about making the idea a reality. Smith hasn't really said much more about a potential Dogma sequel since then, but during a Q&A session held earlier today at New York Comic-Con, the director firmly shut the door on the possibility of one happening.
"Fuck no. I don't think we need a Dogma 2. And I am sure as shit not going near any religious movies at this point."
Well, it doesn't get much more unequivocal than that. Smith clearly has no current plans to ever continue Dogma's story with a sequel. Does that necessarily guarantee a sequel will never happen? No, if only because at 47-years-old, Smith is still a relatively young man, and could conceivably change his mind about the prospect at some distant point in the future. For evidence, one needs only look at how many sequels end up materializing multiple decades after the original. That said, fans obviously shouldn't hang their hopes on that remote possibility. For now, Dogma 2 is dead.
In some ways, perhaps it's better for everyone that Dogma 2 isn't happening. After all, the now deceased Rickman gave one of the most entertaining performances in the original film, and it's hard to imagine a sequel without him. Also, recent film history is littered with comedy sequels that failed to capture the magic of the original, such as Dumb and Dumber To and Anchorman 2. While there's obviously no guarantee that a Dogma 2 would fail to live up to the first film, it's definitely possible. With that in mind, it might be best to leave well enough alone.