'Clerks 3' Will Go Back To Kevin Smith's Roots By Keeping Randal And Dante At The Quick Stop

By Ethan AndertonFeb. 6, 2020 8:30 am EST

In case you forgot, Kevin Smith's Clerks 3 is alive and kicking again. Last fall, the filmmaker, who launched his career with the Sundance sensation Clerks, revealed that he was putting together a whole new script for the sequel, which has failed to launch several times over the past decade. However, unlike Clerks II, this sequel will be digging back into Kevin Smith's roots by not taking Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) outside of the Quick Stop very much.

Responding to a fan on Twitter who voiced his complaints about Clerks II and proposed some ideas for Clerks 3, Kevin Smith provided this little tidbit about the forthcoming sequel:

Maybe that's because Clerks II came out in 2006, not the 90's. Also: Clerks II is my favorite of the Askewniverse movies (with #JayAndSilentBobReboot gaining fast). Also also: Clerks III takes place almost entirely at Quick Stop, so no airport stops. https://t.co/6jatkAJsDS

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) February 4, 2020

The original Clerks unfolded entirely at the New Jersey convenience store conjoined to a video rental shop, inspired by Kevin Smith's time as a clerk himself. But Clerks II took Randal and Dante away from the Quick Stop after a fire closed it down, forcing the duo to work at the fast food establishment Mooby's. Even though the sequel has some solid emotional beats, Clerks II didn't feel like a proper sequel to Clerks. But it sounds like that will change with Clerks 3.

When Smith announced the return of Clerks 3 with an entirely new script, he said this:

"It'll be a movie that concludes a saga. It'll be a movie about how you're never too old to completely change your life. It'll be a movie about how a decades-spanning friendship finally confronts the future. It'll be a movie that brings us back to the beginning – a return to the cradle of civilization in the great state of New Jersey."

Setting Clerks 3 back at the Quick Stop is a good start. But even so, as we saw with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, Smith doesn't exactly have the same comedic touch that he used to have all those years ago, even when he returns to his familiar charaters. Even though there's a certain amount of nostalgia for all the stories told in what is known as the View Askewniverse, that can only go so far. Here's hoping that Clerks 3 and the recent rumblings of a Mallrats sequel will be the last time Smith returns to this well.