Warning: This story includes a minor spoiler from Clerks III.It's been a long time coming, but Clerks III has finally made it to theaters. Writer-director Kevin Smith began his career almost three decades ago with the original Clerks that was released in 1994. After revisiting the film's lead characters, Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), in 2006's Clerks II, Smith brought the duo back to the Quick Stop to serve customers once again in their third feature film together. Fathom Events teamed up with Lionsgate to give the sequel a limited run in theaters, and Smith has also been touring the film throughout the country.
While Dante and Randal are the stars of the story, there are other characters from the View Askewniverse fans can expect to see. As revealed on social media by Smith, that includes Mallrats character William Black, played by My Name Is Earl star Ethan Suplee. Back in the 1990s, Suplee looked rather different from how he appears now, having since lost hundreds of pounds and getting muscled up. On Instagram, Smith shared an image of himself alongside Suplee and Jason Mewes while revealing that a now-buff William appears in Clerks III, as Smith worked Suplee's real-life body transformation into the script.
As Smith explains, there's an "auditions montage" featuring cameos from various actors as a way of including many different characters into the film. He reveals that Suplee's William is among these characters, teasing that despite the actor's change in appearance, fans will still recognize the Mallrats favorite based on Suplee's delivery of his dialogue. From the Instagram post:
"On The Convenience Tour, the auditions montage (where we stuck all the cameos of our famous friends) brings the house down every night! And perhaps the biggest applause and cheers happens after (Ethan Suplee) shows up as Willam Black! Or should I say William JACKED, as Ethan is a rock hard body builder now! But even while looking amazingly fit, the moment he bellows “WHEN, LORD?!?” he’s instantly recognizable from his Mallrats lament! Come see Ethan and loads more famous faces as my new (Clerks movie) plays in (Fathom Events) theaters TODAY!"
Clerks III Could Lead to Mallrats 2 Finally Happening
If we're seeing Mallrats characters in Clerks III, does that mean Mallrats 2 is on the horizon? That's possible, according to Smith. Previously, Smith has stated his plans to make a sequel he dubbed Twilight of the Mallrats, but as of now, the project hasn't been officially greenlit. Speaking with THR, Smith recently said his hope is that Clerks III will do well enough with its theatrical run that the Mallrats sequel will finally get moving.
"We’re hoping to God that Clerks III is the Kaopectate or the Pepto Bismol, if you will, that loosens up the Mallrats bowels, and suddenly, that sh*t starts flowing," Smith elegantly put it. "I know the good folks at Lionsgate and our producers, Liz [Destro] and Jordan [Monsanto], have been having conversations to try to make that happen."
He added, "It’s a Universal project, so Universal owns Mallrats even though they tend to forget they do. Whenever I bring it up, I’m like, 'I want to make Mallrats,' and they’re always like, 'Go ahead.' And I’m like, 'Yeah, but you guys own it.' And they’re like, 'We do?' Since the movie is neither fast nor furious, it’s not really a movie that they pay much attention to, but Clerks III might make things a little bit easier... I still hold out hope, but I don’t think you’ve seen the last of Brodie Bruce."
For now, you can check out Clerks III. Find out where to watch the movie by visiting the official website.