Mallrats 2 will have many similarities to the original, says Kevin Smith. It’s been 25 years since Mallrats was first released, and much has changed - not just in Smith’s life and career during this time, but also in cinema as a whole. The release of the original Mallrats marked Smith’s follow up to his wildly successful indie debut, Clerks, which had been released a year earlier. Much like Clerks had done, Mallrats found a receptive audience among his rapidly growing fanbase. The film helped to immortalize the slacker culture of the 1990s, all while laying down more of the framework that would come to be commonly known as the View Askewniverse.
Chronologically, Mallrats takes place before the events of Clerks and focuses on two friends, Brodie (Jason Lee) and T.S. (Jeremy London), who have been recently dumped by their girlfriends and head to the local mall in an attempt to find solace. The film is classic Smith through and through, and for years fans have asked for a sequel. Initially it looked as though fans would have to settle for a Mallrats TV series rather than a film, but the new year brought news from Smith that a film sequel was still very much in the works, entitled Twilight of the Mallrats.
What’s more, during a recent online screening of Mallrats by Focus Features as part of its Focus Movie Mondays, Smith joined the live Watch Party on Focus’ Facebook page. Always a funny and informative commentator on all things Hollywood – and in particular his own films, Smith told the online gathering that the upcoming Mallrats sequel will contain many similarities to the original. Having been working on the follow up’s script during the COVID-19 lockdown, Smith stated that it was “so weird” to be watching the original film. Said the filmmaker: “So weird watching this, as I repeat so many of these beats in Twilight of the Mallrats."
At present, there isn’t an official synopsis of the plot for Mallrats 2, but given Smith’s statement that the sequel has similarities to the original film, fans can likely expect a return to form. Of course, it’s hard to imagine the cast of characters still hanging out at a local shopping mall, given they’ll now be well into their late 40s and early 50s. However, finding out exactly what those characters are now doing is indeed a major part of the sequel’s appeal. So far, Smith has returned to two of his most beloved properties, providing a Clerks sequel in 2006 as well as a return to the world of Jay and Silent in 2019, with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. And although Smith deemed a third Clerks film a no-go not long ago, that decision now appears to have been reversed, with Smith recently revealing he was working on the script.
Things definitely look exciting for fans of Smith and his Askewniverse, but some might be concerned by the filmmaker’s admission that such strong similarities exist between the original Mallrats and its sequel. The trick to creating a sequel to a well-known title often comes down to just the right balance between old and new. If Smith is simply remaking Mallrats with older characters, the end results could be less than satisfactory. Of course, it’s important to also remember this is a film for Smith fans. Smith fans have repeatedly proven themselves to be a highly dedicated bunch, in which case Twilight of the Mallrats could find a receptive audience regardless of how similar the original film is to its sequel.
Source: Focus Features