It’s the movie that was – then wasn’t – and then IS going to happen. Now it has happened.
If you follow pop culture icon Kevin Smith and his View Askewniverse, then this next instalment of the Clerks franchise will come to no surprise for you. However, if you’re new to the world of Smith and his films, then move on.
In the original 1994 indie film – Clerks follows the lives of Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), working dead-end jobs at the Quick Stop convenience store and VHS rental store, getting up to shenanigans and dealing with stoners Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith).
Fast forward to 2008, and the sequel Clerks II continues to follow the lives of Dante and Randal, but this time they’re working at the fast food franchise Mooby’s (which was established in the 1999 Smith film Dogma) after the Quick Stop burned down. They’re a little older and none-the-wiser, but here, they meet Manager Becky (Rosario Dawson) and nerd-virgin Elias Grover (Trevor Fehrman). Again, they get up to shenanigans, as well as dealing with slightly more mature stoners Jay and Silent Bob. After having an existential crisis, Dante and Randal realise their heart is in the Quick Stop store, so they rebuild.
Hit the chapter skip to 2022, and the new third instalment Clerks III is upon us. What does the trailer have to tell us – the consumer? It shows that Kevin Smith fans are in for a mega-treat, with the old band back together and drawing upon real life events of Smith himself. Dante and Randal are even older, still running the store. It’s not until Randal suffers a heart attack (just like Smith did in 2018), realises life is too short and now wants to make the one thing that he’s been passionate about since running the VHS rental store – that is to make a movie (just like Smith did in 1994 with … Clerks).
With friend-cameos, self-awareness and View Askewniverse easter eggs galore shoved inside the 1:55 trailer, Clerks III is catering for his fans yet again (just like the 2019 film Jay & Silent Bob Reboot). We’re going to be in for a meta-treat.
Clerks III will be released later in 2022.
