Kevin Smith To Direct 'Clerks III' Before Retiring

Hyphenated filmmaker Kevin Smith -- director-writer-actor-etc. -- previously announced the last feature he would direct would be the hockey comedy “Hit Somebody,” but he took to Twitter Friday to announce he will complete a “Clerks” movie trilogy before retiring.

“So with the 'Hit Somebody' shift, the minute Jeff Anderson [one of the stars of the ‘Clerks’ series] signs on, my last cinematic effort as a writer/director will be 'Clerks III,'” Smith tweeted.

The “Hit Somebody” shift mentioned by Smith refers to that project’s complicated development cycle. Originally, Smith intended “Hit Somebody” to be a feature-length film and his final directorial effort. While shooting it, however, Smith soon realized he had too much footage and that he wanted to shoot still more.

So it was stretched into two movies.

Then, on Friday, Smith tweeted that “Hit Somebody” would ultimately see life as a television miniseries of six episodes. Each will be an hour in length, according to its creator.

Because his hockey-themed magnum opus will not technically be shown in movie theaters, Smith has decided he must create one more feature film after all -- and where better to end than where he began, with the “Clerks” franchise.

Smith created “Clerks” on a shoestring budget. Released in 1994, its cost was a mere $27,575. The movie was shot in black and white (to save money) at the convenience store where Smith was employed.

The darkly comic film soon became a cult classic, grossing $3 million in theaters with comparatively little marketing attached to the title. A sequel followed 12 years later, and “Clerks II” ultimately grossed $27 million.

Around the time of the “Clerks II” release in 2006, Smith told Australia's Herald Sun: "[I]f there's ever gonna be a 'Clerks III,' it would be somewhere down the road in my 40s or 50s, when it might be interesting to check back in on Dante and Randal. But I don't know about Jay and Bob so much, 'cause, at 45, leaning on a wall in front of a convenience store might be a little sad."