Kevin Smith gives an update on the status of Clerks 3, saying it’s close to completion with just a few more steps left in post-production.
Kevin Smith recently offered an update on the status of the upcoming Clerks 3. The upcoming comedy film acts as a sequel to the 1994 original and its 2006 follow-up, and much like those two, Smith has been heavily involved in all aspects of production, having written, directed, edited, and produced it. The first installment, which follows a normal day in the lives of two convenience store clerks at Quick Stop Groceries, established Smith’s career and introduced fan-favorite recurring characters, like Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith). Upon its release, Clerks drew largely positive reviews from critics and has since developed a cult following. Clerks 2 followed 12 years later and introduced new characters, like Trevor Fehrman’s Elias Grover and Rosario Dawson’s Becky Scott, who joined Brian O’Halloran’s Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson’s Randal Graves.
In 2014, Smith opened up about how his film Tusk got him the financing for Clerks 3, and the plan was to start filming a year later, though the development of a potential Mallrats sequel halted that process. It was not until last year that the writer/director confirmed the completion of the film’s script and started teasing what fans can expect this time around. It will see the return of Mewes, O’Halloran, Anderson, Fehrman, and Dawson alongside Marilyn Ghigliotti, who is reprising her role as Veronica Loughran from the original film. Smith revealed that Clerks 3 will be in black and white and color and that it will be set primarily at Quick Stop, following Anderson’s Randal, who wants to make a movie with Dante after surviving a heart attack.
Now, Smith is explaining on his podcast series, Fatman Beyond (via ComicBook) that the project is close to ready, stating, “we’re all pretty much done here with Clerks 3.” He adds that he has watched the reels and has liked what he has seen, noting that he just needs to preview the last reel now. Smith says he enjoys the sound design and looks forward to color correction and viewing the film in the way that the director of photography saw it. Read part of Smith’s quote regarding the status of Clerks 3 below:
“We’re all pretty much done here with Clerks 3…Today I watched reel 1, 2, 3, and 4. Really great, I had very minimal notes. I’m more of a fan of like, use what’s on the track, since most of my movies are all dialogue, but they sound designed some nifty things into it. The character Randal has a heart attack in the motion picture and they did some cool things with the heart attack moment, audio wise that I was like ‘oh, fucking right on.’ And we watch reel 5 tomorrow. They wanted a little more time to do reel 5. So tomorrow I go and watch the DI playback.”
Fans of Clerks will have a lot to look forward to in the third installment. Back in November, Smith explained how he recreated scenes from the 1994 original, teasing that it resembles a film people are familiar with. He mentioned that HBO Max had added Clerks to their library at the time and that he would pull the movie up on smartphones near the monitors to compare shots. Smith also shared how getting certain shots as close to the original as possible was evocative of that first experience, saying that he was able to reproduce moments that might have been taken for granted at the time.
With Clerks 3 coming out this year, well over a decade after the last sequel, anticipation is certainly building. Seeing the new Clerks cast photos, featuring its returning stars, compared to those from the original further emphasizes just how much time has passed and indicates how loyal this cast of actors are to Smith. Revisiting Quick Stop once again will certainly please fans, who can reenter the View Askewniverse and watch the first two films as they await Clerks 3‘s designated release date.
Source: Fatman Beyond (via ComicBook)
