Kevin Smith Reveals A First Look At Clerks III Meticulously Recreating The Original Clerks

Kevin Smith has been busy working on "Clerks III." The writer/director is getting a little nostalgic with the sequel, which is coming 15 years since we last saw the titular convenience store slackers Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) in the fast food game in "Clerks II." Inspired by his own near-death experience, the sequel finds Randal pooling his resources to make a movie about the time he and Dante have spent working behind a counter, not unlike Kevin Smith did with the original "Clerks" back in 1994. As production nears the end, the filmmaker posted a photo on social media to show just how loyal Randal's filmmaker efforts will be to Kevin Smith's debut indie comedy.

Over on Facebook, Kevin Smith said, "The movie-in-movie moments in #Clerks3 have been the most fun to shoot, as the cast and crew painstakingly labor to recreate my cinematic past." The scene in question involves what Smith referred to as "an obscure '70s sci-fi flick you've probably never heard of," and anyone who has seen "Clerks" knows this is when Randal and Dante are having a very serious conversation about the ramifications of destroying the Death Star in the original "Star Wars."

When we heard Randal would basically be making his own version of "Clerks" within the View Askewniverse (the universe in which all of Kevin Smith's movies featuring Jay and Silent Bob take place), we knew Kevin Smith would be waxing nostalgic, but we didn't know it would be quite so extensive. We'll likely be seeing complete recreations of scenes from "Clerks" within "Clerks III," but perhaps with some variations as only a brash personality like Randal can deliver. After all, Randal may be as raunchy and talkative as Kevin Smith, but he's certainly a lot more militant and abrasive, so his perspective on his job may be a little more disparaging. In fact, there might be some great comedy to mine from Randal providing his own version of "Clerks" and how it differs from Kevin Smith's vision.

When the project was announced last month, here's what Kevin Smith had to say about reaching back to where his filmmaking career began:

"There's a saying from the Tao that goes something like 'To be great is to go on. To go on is to go far. To go far is to return.' Thanks to Lionsgate, we get to return to where it all started with almost the whole cast that started it all! 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 I return the favor."

This photo arrived a few days ago, and production will be wrapping imminently. Then we just have to wait for Lionsgate to release "Clerks III" sometime in 2022.