Kevin Smith’s ‘Clerks 3’ Lands at Lionsgate
The new sequel will start production in August in New Jersey, with Smith directing his own script.
Lionsgate has picked up the worldwide rights to Kevin Smith’s Clerks 3, the sequel to the indie film cult classic.
Smith wrote the script and will direct, with all major castmembers returning, including Jeff Anderson as Randal, Brian O’Halloran as Dante, Jay Mewes as Jay, Smith as Silent Bob, and Rosario Dawson as Becky.
Clerks 3 is in preproduction in New Jersey and will begin production in August, with Liz Destro and Jordan Monsanto producing.
In Clerks 3, Randal enlists fellow clerks Dante, Elias, Jay and Silent Bob following a massive heart attack to make a movie immortalizing his life at the convenience store that started it all.
“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,” Smith said in a statement.
Smith’s breakout film, Clerks, was released in 1994. The sequel, Clerks 2, arrived in theaters in 2006 and grossed $24 million in the U.S. Finding the financing for Clerks 3 took years and for the first time the latest sequel will be shot entirely on location in New Jersey.
“The Clerks movies are audience favorites and many of Kevin’s films, like Dogma, Red State, and the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot are a beloved part of our library that continues to delight Kevin’s devoted fans. We’re thrilled to be presenting the next chapter in the Clerks saga to moviegoers worldwide,” Eda Kowan, executive vp of acquisitions and co-productions for Lionsgate, added in a statement.
Kowan acquired the project and will oversee the film for Lionsgate. Kowan, Grace Duplissea and Kaycee Holcomb negotiated the deal for Lionsgate.
Destro and Jackie Eckhouse at Sloss Law negotiated the deal on behalf of Smith and the producers.