Kevin Smith has come a long way since scraping together a couple of bucks and shooting a movie at the stores he worked at. Since Clerks, he’s carved out a cult niche for himself with his View Askewniverse, with Clerks III returning for pickups next month. Beyond that, he’s a successful podcaster, created Netflix’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and has popped up in all manner of cool cameos.
But his latest appearance surprised even him. On a recent episode of Jeopardy! a contestant was asked “This director took his “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” across the country on a roadshow”. The answer is, of course, “Who is Kevin Smith?”.
The clip was posted on Twitter and Smith replied that he was touched that his Reboot Roadshow was remembered and said he still gets a kick out of hearing his name on TV:
Though I haven’t enjoyed all his movies, I’m always pleased to see and hear from Smith, particularly in the wake of his near-fatal 2018 heart attack. Since then he’s transformed his life, demonstrating an impressive work ethic, adopting a strict vegan diet, and losing a lot of weight.
All that forms the basis for Clerks III, which sees Jeff Anderson’s Randal Graves suffering a similar heart attack, resolving to turn his life around, and fulfilling his dream of becoming a director. We can expect cameos from Askewniverse characters who’ve been featured in movies since Clerks, and it sounds like a hell of a nostalgia trip.
Kevin Smith indicated that a rough cut of Clerks III is complete and that we’ll see it in mid to late 2022.