Kevin Smith has confirmed that one of his most iconic films is finally getting a sequel, 25 years after it first hit our screens.
Dogma was released in 1999, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon leading a wildly star-studded cast alongside Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Chris Rock and Alanis Morissette.
It followed the story of fallen angels Loki (Matt) and Bartleby (Ben) as they journey to New Jersey in search of a loophole that will get them back into heaven.
However, by using the loophole, it would mean the end of humanity – Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino) unwittingly leads the charge against them, aided by prophets, an apostle and Serendipity.
Appearing at Vulture Festival over the weekend, to mark the flick’s 25-year anniversary, the director – and star – announced that a sequel is officially on the way.
‘Some people will be like, “Don’t f**ing touch it. You’ll ruin it,” he said, via Deadline. ‘And I’m here to tell you: I will. I’m f**ing tickled. I found a way in.’
Kevin also teased appearances by Matt and Ben, joking that they ‘owe’ him for his help on their Oscar-winning masterpiece, Good Will Hunting – after they failed to give him a shout-out in any speeches.
‘I have been able to hold that over both their heads for 25 f**ing years, which is why they keep showing up in all the movies,’ he continued.
‘Expect a cameo from them – more than a f**ing cameo. The only way we get a Dogma sequel made is if they’re there. So, count on those guys being there.’
Dogma first premiered more than two decades ago, and has gone on to become a huge cult classic.
It currently boasts a huge fan score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a critics rating of 68%.
Janet Maslin of the New York Times praised it as ‘Mercilessly funny’, while Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times agreed: ‘Dogma is a raucous, profane but surprisingly endearing piece of work, a funny and lively film of ideas.’
It is currently not clear when we’ll get our hands on the sequel, who else could take part and what it could focus on.
Lifting the lid on where else the Dogma universe could go, Kevin added that it could possibly lead to ‘sequels, TV versions, in terms of extending the story. Something we could never do before. So, exciting man. And all those people who worked in it are still viable.’
It was also revealed that the flick will finally be made available to stream and purchase digitally following a battle over the distribution rights.
They were previously owned by Harvey Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, in a deal which predated streaming – in a recent move, the disgraced film producer’s company sold the rights to a number of films, including Dogma, to another company.
Kevin then met with the new owners and shared that his movie will briefly return to cinemas to commemorate the milestone anniversary, describing it as ‘like getting my f**king child back’.
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