The first poster image has been released for Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, revealing the duo’s comic book alter egos in updated movie form. The film follows the eponymous stoners as they discover that the previous movie based on the comic book superheroes drawn with their physical likenesses is getting a reboot, and so travel across the country to Hollywood to put a stop to it. If this sounds suspiciously similar to the plot of 2001’s Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, that’s precisely the point. Smith has described Reboot as “a movie that makes fun of sequels and remakes and reboots while being all three at the same time.”
Played by Jason Mewes and Smith himself, Jay and Silent Bob are recurring characters featured in Smith’s early films, known as the View Askewniverse, made up of Clerks, Clerks II, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Aside from the latter two, they play little part in the films’ main plots, instead being used as comic side characters providing dim-witted comments on situations as events meander into their proximity (something akin to a stoned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern).
The image was posted by Kevin Smith to his Instagram page. He explains the unexpectedly slinky appearance of Chronic by stating that the in-universe source material has been modernized to gender flip the part of Chronic, referencing the frequent practice of changing male characters to female in order to go some way towards balancing the ratio of leading characters that heavily favors the former. He didn’t say who will be playing the superheroes in the film-within-a-film (as well as, presumably, exaggerated versions of themselves outwith that) but did state that it’s revealed in the trailer, which debuts on Saturday during Smith’s panel at SDCC.
Not all of Smith’s output has been focused on his slightly surreal comedies featuring twentysomethings waxing lyrical about pop culture. His first venture beyond his comfort zone was 2004’s romantic comedy Jersey Girl, which didn’t fare so well, a fate that also befell the disappointing crime comedy Cop Out, the only movie Smith has directed that he didn’t also write. Comedies of different sorts came in the firm of the self-explanatory Zack and Miri Make a Porno and the severely underrated Yoga Hosers. He has also delved into straight horror with Red State, Tusk and a segment of anthology movie Holidays, and TV work from recently directing episodes of CW superhero shows The Flash and Supergirl, as well as the pilot of fantasy comedy Reaper back in 2007.
Since before the release of Jersey Girl, Smith has promised time and again to leave the characters of his youth behind him, but every time news of their return comes out people who loved them in the ‘90s are still excited for it. Jay & Silent Bob Reboot will likely be a nostalgia trip through his early work that also takes a look at contemporary treatment of superhero properties since the MCU irrevocably altered public perception of them, and the importance of being true to a title’s tone and content in the face of required changes to make it more marketable. The references to his past work will also provide an opportunity for younger viewers to discover it, affording the somewhat puerile but still engaging and endearing comedies a chance at a new audience.
Next: Everything We Know About The Jay & Silent Bob Reboot
Source: Kevin Smith
