While details regarding Kevin Smith’s upcomingMallratssequel,Twilight of the Mallrats, are slowly being released, Smith has now revealed the movie we could have ended up seeing, and it sounds…interesting. It seems the writer/director’s initial plans were akin to action classicDie Hardonly in a mall.
“There was one I wrote years ago that was calledMallrats 2: Die Hard in a Mall. Most of that wound up becoming Jay & Silent Bob Reboot. The whole third act of Jay & Silent Bob Reboot was the whole third act of Mallrats 2. They took over the mall instead of Chronic Con, and in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot they were Russian terrorists but in Mallrats 2 they were Canadian terrorists taking over the mall, and Brody was forced into this John McClane type position.”
So, Smith’s first draft of theMallratssequel was very different from whatTwilight of the Mallratseventually became, and would have even featured Jason Lee’s immature slackerBrodie Brucesummoning his inner John McClane. Whilst the idea is brimming with comedic potential, Smith evidently conceived of a better direction in which to take the story.
The firstMallratsmovie focuses on Brodie Bruce and TS Quint (Jeremy London), who are both dumped by their girlfriends on the same day. In order to deal with their mutual loss, they head to the local mall as they cross paths with friends, including Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). T.S.’s girlfriend, Brandi, is participating in a dating game show at the mall, which was the initial cause of their breakup.
Meanwhile,Brodie’s ex Rene(Shannen Doherty), has begun dating sleazy store manager Shannon. T.S. and Brodie seek out ways to ruin the game show, hunted all the while by Brandi’s father, Jared. The movie also starred Shannen Doherty, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Renee Humphrey, Michael Rooker, and Ethan Suplee. ThoughMallratsfailed to make much of an impact at the box office, the movie has since developed a passionate following in the years since its release.
Over the last few months,Kevin Smithhas revealed a few details here and there about what fans can expect fromTwilight of the Mallrats. The story is said to feature Brodie’s daughter, a brand new character, with the sequel also set to bring back some old favorites such as Affleck’s Shannon Hamilton character from the first movie. Smith has also confirmed that both a returning Michael Rooker and B-movie royalty Bruce Campbell will have roles in the sequel.
As if that were not already enough, theTwilight of the Mallratsdirector has revealed that comic book icon Stan Lee will be honored in the movie in some way. The Marvel legend and creator ofSpider-Manmade a special appearance in the first movie, offering Jason Lee’s Brodie some sage advice concerning life, love, and everything in between. When he could stop Brodie asking questions about superheroes' sex organs, of course.
Smith has also stated thatTwilight of the Mallratswill mention the ongoing global situation that has brought the entertainment industry to a halt. This comes to us fromIMDb’s Movies That Changed My Life.
