The Special Way Kevin Smith Is Responding To Captain Marvel's Mallrats Reference

4 hours ago

Given the recent passing of Stan Lee, many went to see Captain Marvel with a bit of extra anticipation for his cameo, and the film didn't disappoint. Taking advantage of both its 1995 and Los Angeles setting, the blockbuster depicted Lee at a very specific time in his life - specifically when he was preparing to play a small role in the Kevin Smith indie comedy Mallrats. It's a moment that hit Smith very hard emotionally - as seen on social media - and it seems that the impact has gone as far as to have an effect on the in-production Jay And Silent Bob Reboot:

Much like he did with 2001's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Kevin Smith is re-exploring his roots with his latest feature, and you can feel it in this image posted to the filmmaker's personal Twitter page. In the shot we see Jason Lee reprise his Mallrats role, superhero aficionado/former late night host Brodie Bruce, and while it's no surprise that he's in a comic book shop (he owns one in the 2001 feature), what is obviously significant is the fact that he is reaching for Captain Marvel Vol. 10 #1, which just hit shelves this past January.

Despite the fact that he knew about it ahead of time, Kevin Smith was left a blubbering mess by Stan Lee's cameo in Captain Marvel - which sees the comic book legend on a bus practicing lines from a Mallrats script ("Trust me, true believer"). Obviously right now we don't know exactly what Brodie will say when he picks up that issue, but one can probably assume fairly that it will be something positive... even if that isn't super on-brand for the cynical former-basement dweller. It's possible that he's evolved even further beyond who he was when we last saw him 18 years ago.

Written and directed by Kevin Smith, Jay And Silent Bob Reboot reunites audiences with the titular characters (Jason Mewes, Smith) as they go on another adventure to Hollywood in hopes of stopping the new Bluntman and Chronic reboot that is in development. In addition to the lead duo and Jason Lee, the film will feature many more familiar View Askewniverse faces, including Shannon Elizabeth, Diedrich Bader, and Brian O'Halloran, as well as some new ones - such as Joe Manganiello and Grant Gustin. Saban Films is on board producing and distributing, but it's not yet known exactly when fans can expect to see the finished film.

As he pretty much always is, Kevin Smith has been active on Twitter all throughout the production of Jay And Silent Bob Reboot, so you can be sure that this isn't the last update we'll get from the set. Stay tuned for more updates as the filming continues of what we hope winds up being a super weird, meta, funny ride.