Will Clerks 3 Be In Black-And-White?

With filming on "Clerks 3" already underway, it's officially time to wonder what we can expect from director/writer Kevin Smith's upcoming threequel. Specifically, will "Clerks 3" be in black-and-white? It's only natural to ponder the possibilities because "Clerks 3" is already shaping up to be a major nostalgia-fest in another key way. The third "Clerks" movie, for which Smith revealed finally received funding from Lionsgate only last month, will be bringing back many of the actors who have been integral to the franchise. This means Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson will once again reprise their roles as jaded QuickStop alums Dante Hicks and Randal Graves. Smith and Jason Mewes will also revisit their roles as notorious ne'er-do-well Jersey boys Jay and Silent Bob. Rosario Dawson will return as Becky, a love interest first introduced in the 2006 sequel "Clerks 2." And, in a true twist of nostalgic fate, Marilyn Ghigliotti will be back as Veronica, Dante's girlfriend from 1994's "Clerks."

All the way back in October 2019, Smith also revealed "Clerks 3" includes a deeply personal plot inspired by his own life-threatening heart attack. The director/writer detailed the plot while in conversation with The Wrap, saying that in "Clerks 3," Randal suffers a similarly impactful heart attack and "decides that he came so close to death, and his life has meant nothing ... and in the recovery, while under fentanyl, he comes to the conclusion at mid-life, having almost died, having worked in a movie store his whole life and watched other people's movies, he tells Dante, I think we need to make a movie. So Dante and Randal make 'Clerks.'"

Now, Kevin Smith has revealed that yet another key nostalgic element will make its way back into the "Clerks" franchise: a black-and-white color scheme. According to Smith, there is a very good reason for bringing back the black-and-white look from the 1994 movie. In a recent interview with Comicbook, the "Clerks 3" director/writer confirmed the movie is "both [black and white and color]" and went on to say, "the premise of the movie, of course, is that they make a movie, so the movie they make is in black and white. The movie's in color, but [it's black and white] when they shoot their version of 'Clerks' — which is called 'Inconvenience.'"

Smith then went on to explain that the switch between black-and-white and color is purposeful because "there's a lot of us replicating the scenes that you know insanely well from 'Clerks,' and the beautiful thing is they're replicated with all the same people, and we're all so f***ing old."

Fans of the "Clerks" franchise will undoubtedly be excited to see Smith push the creative boundaries once again as "Clerks 3" bounces between black-and-white and color, telling a story that is not only deeply personal to him but will likely be so for the cast and characters in the movie as well. Smith is already sharing regular updates on Instagram from the "Clerks 3" set as filming continues. As such, it might be good to keep an eye out for a preview of present-day Dante and Randal in black-and-white.