| Kevin Smith has been talking for a while about retiring from filmmaking after hockey drama Hit Somebody to focus on helping other people get their movies out there, and on his flourishing multimedia SMOD-monikered empire. But where does that leave the once-mooted dream of Clerks III? According to Smith, the future for Dante, Randal, Jay and Silent Bob might just be on the stage. No, we’re not talking a massive musical in which the characters sing show-stopping tunes about Star Wars. Smith brought the idea of a Broadway stage production of any third Clerks story up at a book signing last week, and Entertainment Weekly got him talking about his plans. As of right now, it’s still in the early duiscussion period, but Smith has reached out to the cast to get their opinions. “Jeff (Anderson, who plays Randal) was the first person I reached out to. I sent him an email after I’d seen Alan Rickman in Seminar in February: ‘You’re the first person I’m gonna tell… Clerks III is gonna be a play on Broadway. We’ll do a six-month run and sell out the entirety in advance. You up for six shows a week, sir? Live?’ To which Jeff responded, ‘Better lay off the weed, sir.’ "I told Jason (Mewes), just before we went onstage to do our Jay & Silent Bob Get Old live podcast in London. He asked if he could be his own understudy. I haven’t spoken to Brian (O'Halloran, Dante) yet, but he’s the only one of us with actual theatrical training, so this will be right up his alley. I know I’ll need Trevor (Fehrman) as well, because Elias from Clerks II will feature prominently. Rosario Dawson’s Becky would feature in a pre-recorded bit.” And if you’re a Clerks fan suddenly frothing at the mouth with frustration that you won’t be able to see the performance? Smith has you covered. “I’ll make it as painless as I can: a six-month run that culminates with a one-night performance we broadcast into movie theatres, like we did with Live From Behind a few months back. So ultimately, anyone who can’t make it to Broadway to see the show can go to the movie theater the night we stream the production and see if for about 20 bucks. The hardest part for me won’t be making it happen; the hardest part at this point, for me, will be standing on a stage for two hours and not talking.” If it does go ahead, Smith wants the production up and running in 2014, which, coincidentally, is 20 years since the original film debuted. Could be intriguing… For more from Smith, head to EW’s site. | 
