Filmmaker Kevin Smith is poised to release his self-admittedly nostalgic new film Jay and Silent Bob Reboot later this month, but he’s not done revisiting the past just yet. A few years back, Smith had written Clerks 3 and intended to make it as his next movie, but the film was subsequently cancelled in 2017 when Jeff Anderson—one of the original leads of the first two films and a key player in this franchise—decided he didn’t want to be involved. Now, however, it looks like Clerks III is back on with Anderson and Brian O'Halloran returning, as Smith took to Instagram to reveal that he and Anderson have since reconciled and he’s writing an entirely new screenplay that’s different from the one he presented to Anderson in 2017:

Thanks to the good folks at @leeloomultiprops, I got to see Randal! #JeffAnderson@jaymewes, and I spent Saturday signing stuff and catching up, seeing so much movie merch that’s been made over the last 25 years (hit the Leloo site for sweet signed skateboards)! But even better than that? We talked about making a movie together. 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 #newjersey. It’ll be a movie that stars Jeff and @briancohalloran, with me and Jay in supporting roles. And it’ll be a movie called CLERKS III!

 

To be great is to go on. To go on is to go far. To go far is to return. And we’re all gonna return to the scene of the crime! This won’t be the old script we almost made a few years back: this is a completely new screenplay that I just started writing last night! And so far, it’s like a dream come true! After mending fences with @benaffleck earlier this year, I was hoping for a chance to do the same with Jeff - so huge thanks to Leeloo Multiprops for getting us all in the same room. But the biggest thanks ever go to Jeff, for being receptive to the idea at all. This means I’m gonna get to play with my two favorite inaction figures again: Dante & Randal! Two weeks from the debut of @jayandsilentbob Reboot (on @fathomevents screens 10/15 & 10/17, link in my bio), I’m ecstatic to announce our imminent return to Quick Stop! So I assure you: we’re open!

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Image via Miramax Films

Last year, Smith referenced a big falling out between himself and Anderson that he figured rendered Clerks III an impossibility:

“One of the four main characters did not want to be involved. It quickly spiraled out of control in a big, bad way, and wound up not happening and probably could never happen after the stream of events that hit a wall, and sometimes that’s a wall you can’t get over…So, yeah, sadly, that gets put to the side.”

It’s nice to see that Smith and Anderson have since made up, just as Smith and Ben Affleck similarly mended fences which in turn paved the way for Affleck to be part of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Indeed, that film stars Smith and Jason Mewes as their titular characters, but also sees Smith revisiting the View Askewniverse characters from his past to see what they’re up to today, somewhat closing the book on that chapter in his life.

But I’ll admit I’m more interested in Clerks III here, as the sequel has the potential to really see Smith return to his dramatic roots and confront big life changes that are reflected in his central characters. So yeah, we’ve heard this one before, but here’s hoping this time Clerks 3 actually, truly happens.

For more from Smith, check out the filmmaker on the latest episode of Collider’s Comic Book Shopping right here.