It’s been 22 years since we first met Jay and his pal Silent Bob in Clerks. Their brotherly bond has voyaged through seven — soon to be eight — of Kevin Smith’s most popular films. Smith is bracing us for his latest and highly anticipated film, Moose Jaws, featuring Jay and Silent Bob, calling the script both the “stupidest” and his “favorite.”
Actor Jason Mewes (Jay) was in town recently for Wizard World Cleveland, and in an interview shared his enthusiasm over upcoming films and working once again with longtime friend Smith (Silent Bob). “It will be fun to play the characters again, ya know, before I turn 50 or something.” Mewes laughs. The duo are said to be paired again in three upcoming films with talk over Clerks 3 and another Mallrats, but, according to Mewes, it appears that Moose Jaws will be the first.
Life has certainly transformed for the actor since the last Jay and Silent Bob film 15 years ago, with Mewes taking on fatherhood and sobriety. Mewes and his wife, Jordan Monsanto, welcomed their daughter, Logan Lee Mewes, into the world almost one year ago. Mewes gushes over Logan and being a father: “Each day is cooler and cuter.”
Mewes often discusses his five-year sobriety in his podcasts, which originally were created by Smith as an intervention effort. The podcasts keep Mewes accountable for his sobriety and keep him closely tied with his fans.
A major part of that connection comes from touring with the Wizard World Comic Cons, where he is able to meet with fans face-to-face. It is not only a pleasure for his fans but for Mewes as well.
“I have a blast every time," he says. “A lot of people say really kind things. They pay attention to the podcasts and ask how long I’ve been sober.” In the podcasts, Mewes shares stories about his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, which serves as a learning tool that encourages others struggling with addiction.
“A lot of people say that I have helped their brother or cousin stay sober, which is amazing," he says. "Last week at a convention some girl was crying and saying, you know, she’s been watching movies forever and she had depression and it got her through depression. Just people telling me I helped save their life — military [soldiers] going to Iraq, [who say the movies] helped get them through the war. It’s just all been amazing.”
While fans eagerly await more of Jay and Bob’s “hetero-life-mate” shenanigans, they have to sit tight for a while. Moose Jaws will begin shooting in July. It will be the third and final film in Smith's "True North" trilogy, a sequence of horror-comedy films that take place in Canada. Mewes assures us, “The script is great. It will be fun.”
As if fans don’t have enough to look forward to, Mewes has further hopes for Jay and Silent Bob after the next three films: “I’m hoping Kevin will want to do a ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Again’ or something. Sort of end it off big. So we will see what happens.”