Kevin Smith Explains How His Interconnected Universe Was Inspired By Marvel
Director Kevin Smith is now recognized both for his work behind-the-camera and in front of it, as an actor, host, and beyond. Now, he’s promoting his latest film, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Here’s what he has to say about how he’s been inspired by the biggest franchise of all time: The Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Kevin Smith is a well-known director
Smith began his career in the ’90s. He is known for his films such as Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Dogma. In addition to directing, Smith writes, edits, and appears in nearly all of his movies.
Additionally, Smith has gone on to executive produce and act in other films and TV series over the years. You may recognize him from cameos in shows like Veronica Mars and The Mindy Project. Smith often portrays himself, or his character Silent Bob. He’s even appeared in music videos.
He is also known for his love of all things comic-related
If you can believe it, that’s not all that Smith does. He’s also become quite well-known for his love of comic books and the films and TV shows based on them. Smith hosts a variety of podcasts, including Fat Batman, which focus on this passion of his. Oh, and his daughter is named Harley Quinn.
Smith has had the opportunity to transform is comic book fandom into an extension of his career. He’s directed episodes of Supergirl and The Flash and provided the voice for video games like Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and movies like Superman: Doomsday.
How Marvel inspired Smith’s View Askewniverse
Many of Smith’s films, especially the early ones, like Mallrats and everything in the Jay and Silent Bob canon, are connected. They feature many of the same characters and take place in the same area of New Jersey. In a recent Wired Autocomplete Interview, Smith answered the question “Are all Kevin Smith movies connected?”
The director replied, “Most of them are. In the beginning of my career, I was real into the idea of universe-building.” Smith continued, “I stole that idea from Marvel Comics…Why should every story stand apart? I like the idea of crossovers. As a comic-book kid, that appealed to me, so I put it deep into my movies as well.”
Will Smith direct a Marvel movie?
As you can see, Smith is clearly more of a DC dude than a Marvel man. So it’s not as likely that he’d be taking on a Marvel feature in the future. But what about the DCEU? In the interview, one of the questions Smith read was “Could Kevin Smith direct Batman?’
“If you’re asking me, I’d say ‘no.’ That takes patience. Making superhero movies looks like [it] takes a lot of time. I barely have enough patience for the CW shows,” Smith said. However, he says, “If I was asked to direct a Batman movie, I’m f***ing not dumb. I’d say ‘yeah,’ and I’d let somebody else do it and collect the check.”
What we know about ‘Jay And Silent Bob Reboot’
OK, things are about to get meta, so hold onto your hats. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which arrives in theaters Oct. 15, 2019, sees Smith and Jason Mewes return to their old characters, who travel from New Jersey to Los Angeles to stop the film reboot of a movie made about the comic book characters based on them.
Confused yet? If you’re not, get ready, because Smith himself is referenced in the movie, as seen in the trailer. Additional cameos feature a lot of big names actors as themselves, others as their previous View Askewniverse characters, and much, much more. And of course, lots of Marvel and DC folks are on hand. So you’re not going to want to miss this one.
