We are very close to seeing the first trailer for Clerks III, the third installment of the trilogy that began with Kevin Smith's first movie in 1994. After the 2006 sequel Clerks II, it started to seem like we'd seen the last of Dante and Randal at the Quick Stop. In recent years, the long-gestating third film was finally put back on track and has since completed filming. With a new Twitter post, Smith reveals that the first trailer will officially release on July 6.
"Hey, man, it's me, Kevin Smith, and guess what? The Clerks III trailer is coming in one week," Smith says in the video. "That's right, seven days. The countdown has begun. Clerks III, the trailer, drops July 6, 2022. Be there."
For many years, Clerks III was on the shelf as Randal Graves actor Jeff Anderson was not interested in doing another movie. Smith did not want to make Clerks III without Randal, essentially burying the project. Things changed after Smith had a near-fatal heart attack that changed his outlook on life. It also inspired him to write a new take on Clerks III imagining Randal similarly suffering a heart attack and having an epiphany. Anderson was sold on this idea and finally agreed to return, reprising the role as Randal with the character making a movie about his life at the convenience store that started it all.
Clerks III Brings Back Many Fan Favorites
Of course, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are back as Jay and Silent Bob in Clerks III to join returning Clerks stars Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson as Dante Hicks and Randal Graves. Other stars from the Clerks films are also featured, such as Marilyn Ghigliotti (Veronica) and Scott Schiaffo (Chewley's gum salesman) from the first movie and Rosario Dawson (Becky) and Trevor Fehrman (Elias) from Clerks II.
"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,'" Smith said in a statement when the film was acquired by Lionsgate. "Thanks to Lionsgate, we get to return to where it all started with almost the whole cast that started it all! And for the first time since the first time we ever made a movie in 1993, we're shooting the entire flick on location in New Jersey, as an ode to both the enduring allure of cinema and the resourcefulness and lunacy of its storytellers. Years ago, Dante and Randal made me a filmmaker - so now it's time I return the favor."
Clerks III doesn't yet have a release date.