Director Kevin Smith has been itching to jump back into his View Askewniverse for a while. He originally planned to do this with Clerks III, but the threequel fell through when one of the leads dropped out. He also had the Mallbrats TV series lined up, but he was unable to find a network or streaming service interested in the project. Well as they say, the third time is the charm, because Smith is gearing up to revisit the duo at the center of this shared universe, Jay and Silent Bob. The hetero-life mates are headlining another movie, and shooting is scheduled to begin in just a few months.
Six months after Kevin Smith announced the existence of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, the director took to Twitter to announce that the sequel will begin production this fall. Its predecessor, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, just celebrated the 16th anniversary of its theatrical release, and what better way to follow up on than by beginning the production on the next adventure starring two of Hollywood's most famous stoners. Although Smith and Jason Mewes remain great friends, the two of them haven't reprised their respective characters since 2006's Clerks II, which was also the last entry in the View Askewniverse, so Smith will need to dust off that trench coat and Mewes will need to practice cursing up a storm so they'll be fully back in character by the time the cameras start rolling.
Despite what the title implies, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot will not be a reboot in the traditional entertainment sense, but a direct sequel making fun of Hollywood's never-ending relaunches. For those who need a refresher on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the movie saw the duo traveling to Hollywood to stop the Bluntman and Chronic movie from being made because they felt it would damage their reputation since they were the inspiration for those characters. In the end, the movie was released as scheduled and the duo accepted their cut of the royalties, but more than a decade later, they'll find themselves traveling to Hollywood yet again to cause mayhem after they learn that a Bluntman and Chronic reboot is in the works.
Jay and Silent Bob have been part of the View Askeniverse since the beginning, but unlike Clerks, Mallrats and the other installments, Kevin Smith has the full rights to Jay and Silent Bob rather than a studio. Smith described the movie as being a "tongue-in-cheek, silly-ass satire that pokes fun at the movie business's recent re-do obsession, featuring an all-star cast of cameos and familiar faces." Smith has been keeping himself busy in recent years with movies like Yoga Hosers and TV projects like the Sam and Twitch BBC America series, but through Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, he'll get to revisit the world that launched his directing career more than 20 years ago.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more news on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot's progression.
