KEVIN SMITH’S MOOSE JAWS MAY BE THE END OF THE SILENT BOB SAGA
The Kevin Smith-created comedy duo Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Smith himself) are making a comeback, but it’s one they may not survive intact. There are currently three completed screenplays featuring the characters on Smith’s desk, two of them sequels to films they previously appeared in – CLERKS III and MALLBRATS – and the third the final chapter in Smith’s True North Trilogy of Canada-set creature features (following TUSK and the upcoming YOGA HOSERS), MOOSE JAWS. A film which has a very simple description:
JAWS with a moose.
It was just a couple months ago that Smith was pondering whether or not he should insert the characters into the story, and at that time it was unclear exactly how they might be worked into it. That information has since been revealed on Smith’s podcasts and in interviews.
The MOOSE JAWS script is said to follow the structure of JAWS quite closely, moving the setting to a summer camp in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and, yes, replacing the shark with a moose gone mad. To properly spoof JAWS, three characters are required: a Chief Brody type, a Hooper type, and a Captain Quint type. The Brody role is being filled with a camp counselor to be played by Harley Morenstein and Genesis Rodriguez will be reprising her role from TUSK to be the Hooper-esque character, but Smith found it tougher to figure out who the film’s version of Quint should be. He considered putting Johnny Depp’s TUSK and YOGA HOSERS character Guy Lapointe at the head of the moose hunt, but decided he shouldn’t ask Depp to devote so much time to such a project. He considered casting Michael Parks as the Quint type, but didn’t think the actor would be into the idea of trying to match up to Robert Shaw. Then he had the idea that allowed him to finish the script: Jay and Silent Bob as the Quint type.
But, as we all know, things don’t go so well for Quint. And Smith doesn’t intend to have his Quint types avoid Quint’s fate. In a new interview, he spoils just how MOOSE JAWS will deal it:
“I just finished writing the scene where — spoilers — Silent Bob gets eaten by the moose. That’s how he f*cking goes out! Isn’t that fun? I was talking to Jay about Moose Jaws and I’m like, ‘I’m thinking about bringing us in as the Captain Quint character.’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, but Quint gets killed!’ I was like, ‘One of us has to get eaten.’ And he was like, ‘You. Not me.’ I was like, ‘Why?’ And he was like, ‘Because I wanna be in other movies!’ Fair enough, dude. So, rather than let him go out with dignity, he’ll be eaten by a f*cking moose.”
On his podcasts, Smith has previously discussed the fact that one of the characters might have to die, and has wondered if future films should acknowledge or ignore the death. Right now, it looks like his next film to go into production will be MALLBRATS, so it won’t be an issue for that one. Then the question will be, will CLERKS III or MOOSE JAWS be filmed first, and if it’s MOOSE JAWS, does that mean Silent Bob would be absent from CLERKS III? That’s hard to imagine.
Of course, the events of CLERKS III could still be set before MOOSE JAWS, just like MALLRATS was set on the day before CLERKS.
Regardless, it sounds like Silent Bob will be dying a horrible death in MOOSE JAWS. As a twenty year fan of the character, it’s going to be a sad scene for me.
