Kevin Smith Knows He “Can’t Drop The Ball” On ‘Dogma 2’ Because Original Is “One Of The Last F–king Movies I Ever Made That’s Beloved Across The Boards”
In recognizing the very real artistic risk he’s taking by attempting to make a sequel to his two-decade old cult classic, director Kevin Smith is fully aware that all eyes are on him when it comes to Dogma 2 – especially as he knows the original is one of his “last f–cking movies” that still holds a generally positive reputation.
The architect of the ViewAskewniverse offered his thoughts on his upcoming sequel while speaking to Deadline‘s Glenn Garner following the original Dogma‘s screening at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, as held in honor of Smith’s finally acquiring the full rights to the film from Miramax.
Asked by Garner if he could speak to “what’s going on with the sequel,” Smith recalled, “I’ve been whimsying about it for the last six months, because that’s the writing process for me.”
“Writing is not like mashing your fingers on the keys, that’s the very last step,” he explained. “Writing is everything that happens before you actually sit down and put fingers to keys, so whimsying. I’ve been whimsying about what that could be, and I cracked the story. I absolutely love it. I feel like when people see it, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, I get it,’ like ‘that makes sense’ kind of thing. Hopefully they’ll be like, ‘that’s clever’ and not be like, ‘well s–t, I would have done that.'”
In regards to the potential return of original Dogma cast members in the sequel, Smith then asserted, “I will set a place at the table for everyone who was in the first movie who is still alive.”
“Sadly, Alan [Rickman] and George [Carlin] won’t be able to join us, but I’ll set a place at the table for all of them,” he said. “If they want to come back, they’ll have a role to play, but if not, no harm, no foul. The story I’m telling can definitely make use of everybody who is in Dogma, but I can also tell it without. So, that makes me pretty excited to go forward.”
As for the film itself, Smith teased, “It’s its own unique tale.”
“I’ve been watching this movie for the last month on the road with the [Dogma Resurrection theatrical re-release] tour, two shows a night, and then doing an hour or two-hour Q&A after the screening, and then I just got to watch it again in Cannes, where when they brought me to the stage, I got a standing ovation before the movie and then when the movie ended, I got another standing ovation,” he detailed. “So, I’ve been able to really imbibe Dogma, and what I see now is a movie that was written and directed by a kid who believed everything that’s on display.”
“All the tenets of the fake that are on display, it’s a fairly reverent movie,” said the director. “I don’t have those same beliefs anymore, like the movie says. I have some good ideas, but that belief structure doesn’t exist, so I won’t be able to bring the same story to it that I did the first time, let alone the same reason for being. That movie exists as an expression of faith. That was my idea of like, ‘This is how cool Sunday service could be.’ It’s like, church with anal jokes in it.”
“So, I won’t have that same perspective as I tell a Dogma tale this time, but I think that’s more of the way in I’m looking at less life ahead of me than than behind me, and now is the time when one starts thinking about their faith, and one that I don’t really have anymore, so that’s kind of fueling the underneath of the story,” Smith told Garner. “But the upfront, the plot of it, I feel very happy with it.”
To this end, Smith ultimately admitted, “I can’t drop the ball on it. It’s like one of the last f–king movies I ever made that’s beloved across the boards and shit like that. So, I would never step up to the plate unless I was like, ‘Oh, this will f–king work nicely as a companion piece.'”
“So, I feel pretty great about it, man,” he concluded. “But of course during the whimsy stage one always feels great about it. It’s when you make it and everyone sees it and they’re like, ‘Well, that f–king sucks. You should have left well enough alone.’ You just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
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