The first trailer for writer-director Kevin Smith's Clerks III is finally here.
Smith himself has released the trailer for the long-awaited, Lionsgate-distributed Clerks threequel, which marks the return of series mainstays Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson as Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, respectively. Chock-full of meta jokes and callbacks, the trailer revolves around Randal making a movie about his life following a near-death experience.
In addition to being the third film in its own series, Clerks III is the eighth live-action film in Smith's overall View Askewniverse franchise. The proto-cinematic universe began in 1994 with the release of the original Clerks, Smith's debut feature film. Clerks was followed by Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and, eventually, Clerks II (2006). Most recently, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot premiered in 2019.
Clerks: A Look Back at Kevin Smith's Retail Saga
1994's Clerks followed Dante and Randal during a particularly eventful day working at the Quick Stop convenience store and RST video store, respectively. Clerks II continued the dysfunctional duo's story just over 10 years later, with Dante and Randal having taken jobs at the fast-foot restaurant Mooby's after the Quick Stop burned down. The 2006 sequel also featured two major cast additions in the form of Rosario Dawson as Becky Scott and Trevor Fehrman as Elias Grover.
However, whereas Dante was the main protagonist of the first two Clerks films, Clerks III puts the focus on Randal. Inspired by Smith's own near-death experience in 2018, the threequel's story involves Randal going through an existential crisis after narrowly surviving a heart attack. In an effort to leave some sort of legacy behind, Randal decides to make a movie about working at the Quick Stop. Meanwhile, Jay and Silent Bob now own RST, with the former video store having evidently been re-purposed.
Clerks III arrives in theaters for an extremely limited release on Tuesday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 15.
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