It seems safe to say that not a whole lot of people thought the original black-and-white Kevin Smith film Clerks would get a sequel, much less a trilogy.
Now that the Clerks saga has wrapped up for good with the recently released Clerks III, is there that last little tidbit, that final tiny morsel after the film that gives fans a fitting and conclusive finish to the third film?
Oh wait, there might be another Clerks movie?? Well, I’ll be damned.
“I’ve been trying to make Clerks III since the end of Clerks II,” Smith said in an interview with Backstage OL.
When he’s asked if there is another Clerks in the works, he answers emphatically, “Hell yeah! As long as there’s breath in my lungs there’s an opportunity to make a Clerks movie.”
Back to the question at hand…
Does Clerks III have a post-credits scene?
As we’ve come to know mid- and post-credits scenes (thanks, Marvel), we can answer that one pretty straight away — nope, there is no post-credits scene for Clerks III.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything there for fans to stick around for once the credits start to roll.
In fact, there is something a bit more special than some gag or throwaway scene after the film, something with a bit more emotion to it and thoughtfulness behind it.
Smith, who also plays Silent Bob in the three films (and others), takes off his backwards baseball cap and steps into his real self, with his real voice, but not on screen, only as a voiceover to the credits.
He goes one step beyond that even, as he introduces another character that would have given a voiceover to the final scenes of the real movie, but something that he ultimately cut.
It goes like this. During the credits, Smith interjects to thank the fans, and everyone involved in every single one of the films. Then, he takes on the voice of a character that he refers to as “The voice of Smod” to give fans that final voiceover that was cut from the film, so they can get the best of both worlds.
Smith originally teased that fans should stay seated once the film — and trilogy — had totally wrapped up in his own podcast, called Fatman Beyond, to let us all in on some special sort of secret that awaits after the final scene goes to black.
“The movie ends proper, kids, but then I found more real estate to stick my fucking voice, as if my voice isn’t heard enough in this movie,” Smith said, according to comicbook.com. “I found real estate during the credits, where I was like, ‘I should put up more talking,’ and so in the end credits, I talk you through the end credits. It’s a little bit poignant what I talk about, and people responded to that in such a big, bad way.”
[Some spoilers for Clerks III follows from here]
Credit in the credits
For starters, Smith is wise to quote perhaps the still most quotable line that has lived on from the trilogy. It’s the line from Randal stated in the original film: “Man, this job would be great if it wasn’t for the fucking customers.”
After that, Smith thanks the fans and gives a nod to the actual shop, the Quick Stop, as an unsung hero of the films. Then, he introduces what he would have said in the voiceover as Smod, giving this ode to Randal that was cut from the film (with the song I’m From New Jersey by John Gorka playing through the film’s final scene instead).
“Randal Graves spent the rest of his life running Quick Stop groceries whenever he wasn’t making movies, with each film financed solely by Crimson Crypto Studios. At a screening of his final film, the Asbury Park Press asked him to sum up a life spent satisfying both the public’s demand for cigarettes and soda, as well as their appetite for the many movies he made after his celebrated debut, Clerks.
“The 90-year-old Randal Graves replied, ‘I always thought the jobs would’ve been great if it wasn’t for the fucking customers, but as it turns out, these jobs are great because of the fucking customers.’
“He means it, and so do I. Thank you to everybody who ever walked through the door of that store and made me think, ‘Someone should put this in a fucking movie.’ Somebody did. Thank you.”
Clerks III is now playing in theaters.
