One year since he almost died of a massive heart attack, Kevin Smith is back on a film set and returning to his most beloved characters: stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob. The characters are returning in the long-mooted sequel Jay And Silent Bob Reboot, which has just kicked off shooting, and sees the duo trekking back across to Hollywood in order stop the Bluntman and Chronic reboot from being made – yes, this one’s a knowing reboot-quel to 2001’s Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. And in a further nod to his previous View Askewniverse films, Smith has shared a pic from the shoot featuring a familiar face.
As well as the return of Smith and Jason Mewes, the film will bring back Jason Lee as comic book shop owner Brodie, who originated in Mallrats and reappeared in Strike Back. “I couldn’t think of a better scene with which to start the shoot than the return to the Mall with Brodie Bruce,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “The three of us gathered for a couple hours last night to run the lines and realized we first rehearsed together waaaaay back in the mid-90’s. It may be 24 years later and we may have 6 kids between us, but Jay, Lee and me partied like it was 1995, giggling while adding jokes and finding inflections.” He added on Twitter that the three of them shot nine pages of “tongue-twisting dialogue about pop culture” – so, business as usual for Smith.
Jay And Silent Bob Reboot marks Smith’s first film in the Askewniverse since 2006’s Clerks II – its release date isn’t set yet, but expect something either in late 2019, or 2020. The filmmaker has also been busy in recent months shooting horror anthology Killroy Was Here, and was recently announced as a co-writer on Hulu’s animated Howard The Duck series.
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