After several years of will-they-wont-they discussion amongst Kevin Smith, movie studios and the core cast, Clerks III will officially start shooting next month.

Deadline broke the news that writer/director Kevin Smith had struck a deal with Lionsgate to acquire the worldwide rights to Clerks III, which is officially in pre-production and will begin shooting next month in New Jersey. 

“Thanks to Lionsgate, we get to return to where it all started with almost the whole cast that started it all!” said Smith. “And for the first time since the first time we ever made a movie in 1993, we’re shooting the entire flick on location in New Jersey as an ode to both the enduring allure of cinema and the resourcefulness and lunacy of its storytellers. Years ago, Dante and Randal made me a filmmaker – so now it’s time to return the favour.”

Clerk III will have a bit of art imitating life as the plot will focus on Randal having a heart attack — much like Smith a couple of years ago — and choosing to make a movie about his life. 

Alongside Jeff Anderson as Randal and Brian O’Halloran as Dante, Jason Mewes returns as Jay, Smith as Bob and Rosario Dawsons as Becky, who was last seen and introduced in Clerks II.

The last film in the Smith’s long-running ViewAskew universe to be released was 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. 

In 2019 we released a podcast series discussing each of the ViewAskew films in the lead up to the release of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. If you’re a Kevin Smith fan, make sure you check that podcast out with the link below. 

Are you excited for another Clerks film? Let me know in the comment section below.