Back in March, writer, director, and cult figure Kevin Smith (Tusk) took to Twitter to release news of sequel to Mallrats, the 1995 Generation X comedy about two friends who lounge about at their local mall after breaking up with their girlfriends. He later used the same platform to announce casting news for the film, including having original star Jeremy London (TV’s Party of Five) come back on board as the lead. Now, the filmmaker has made his most recent announcement regarding the film on Twitter: a title.
The sequel will be named Mallbrats, as Smith revealed along with the news of a completed first draft.
While Mallbrats could still be considered the working title, Smith’s typical approach of engaging with fans and delivering updates and news through his own social media channels suggests this may be the official title.
One interesting aspect to this sequel is how Smith plans to approach the shopping mall culture through our current generation. While malls saw a rapid consumer boon and growth in the 80s and 90s, things have trended dramatically downward since then. Since the early 2000s, there have been a growing number of under-performing malls that have led to both a drastic decline in new shopping centers being built as well as old ones being closed. Smith alluded to incorporating this very fact into his film on a recent episode of his podcast Hollywood Babble-On, mentioning that he was in search of a “big old empty mall” that he could potentially damage for specific scenes.
Aside from London, returning cast members are Jason Mewes (Clerks), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), Shannon Doherty (TV’s Beverly Hills 90210), Ethan Suplee (The Wolf of Wall Street), Jason Lee (Chasing Amy), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black), Joey Lauren Adams (Big Daddy), and Renee Humphrey (French Kiss). Stan Lee, who had a cameo in the first film, is also set to return.
Mallbrats is expected to begin shooting in May of next year.
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