Mallrats 2 Is Happening, Here’s The Plot
Mallrats 2 is on the way! Here is everything we know.
Mallrats 2 has been percolating in the brain of Kevin Smith for many years. Now, it sounds like it is actually going to happen. The filmmaker recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly and offered some significant updates on the upcoming sequel, including an indication that fans can expect the entire cast to return.
Smith also gave us our first real explanation of the plot for Mallrats 2. According to Smith, “It takes place 25 years after the original and features the entire cast, [and] a new cast of characters as well. It’s about Brodie and his daughter and the death of the mall. The Brodie that we met in Mallrats has only been proven right in life. The world came around to his way of thinking. So, based on that, Brodie never really had to grow up and now, at this juncture in time, we face the moment when he might actually have to become an adult.”
This was also when we learned that the title for Mallrats 2 will be Twilight of the Mallrats. We would love to know if this is a reference to the 1987 anime/live-action hybrid Twilight of the Cockroaches. If it is, Kevin Smith is out here with some wonderfully deep cut references. If anyone was going to go for the deepest possible references, it would be Kevin Smith.
Anyways, it sounds like Kevin Smith finished the script for Mallrats 2 while he was in quarantine. Glad to hear he was able to be productive during such a stressful time. What is really interesting about this development is that the movie actually sprung out of a failed television series. Smith had envisioned ten episodes that told the story of Brodie and his daughter, Banner Bruce, and how their family had broken apart but eventually came back together.
It is going to be fascinating to see how much of the failed Mallrats 2 television series makes its way into the feature film that Kevin Smith is planning. Smith has said that he wanted to capture the spirit of John Hughes in his sequel and that the television series format allowed him to flesh out the younger characters. Is he going to lose some of that development now that the sequel is going to be a single movie again? Wait, this all started as a movie script that turned into a television series and is now back to being a movie again? This is enough to make your head spin.
Hopefully, Smith is going to be able to bring whatever depth he had in the Mallrats 2 television script to the eventual feature film. Smith said that the first episode that he wrote for the scrapped series is one of his favorite things he ever wrote. Exactly how much of that will make it into the finished product? And how much of the ten episodes did Smith get finished before the plug was pulled? Will we ever get to see the television series scripts or will they be folded into the movie and never be made public?
In addition to all this is the news that all the primary cast members from the original film will be returning for Mallrats 2. If that holds true, that means we will get to see Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Claire Forlani, Jason Mewes, Michael Rooker, Ethan Suplee, and Kevin Smith all back in their same roles. Ben Affleck recently showed up in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and it was one of the most heartwarming elements of that film. Will Twilight of the Mallrats be aiming for that same nostalgic warmth?
There is also the matter of when Mallrats 2 will begin shooting. Smith has said that the plan is to shoot next year but he is not clear on the specifics. Obviously, the global pandemic that’s going on has affected everyone’s lives and creative talents are no exception. However, production has resumed for many films and television shows. Will such a massive cast be able to come together next year for Twilight of the Mallrats to take place? We will have to wait and see.
Kevin Smith’s filmography, especially his later films, has come under some pretty strong scrutiny from critics. How much are audiences excited about the prospect of Mallrats 2? Like a lot of Smith’s films, the original Mallrats has a small but devoted cult following. Are they the ones that will be ready for whatever happens next with the series? Or will this new entry in the View Askewniverse speak to an even wider audience? Only time will tell. Hopefully, Smith and everyone else involved will be able to make the movie next year and we can see what Mallrats 2 will finally be.
