The return of Jay and Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is quickly approaching. After a flurry of news in recent weeks, Kevin Smith took to Instagram to celebrate the beginning of the film's production with a behind-the-scenes photo.

The picture shows Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob, who we first saw 25 years ago in Clerks, reunited with Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee), who was introduced in 1995's Mallrats. In the background, a photographic tribute to another Mallrats co-star, and recently deceased comic legend, Stan Lee.

RELATED: Stan Lee Hollywood Tribute to Include Kevin Smith & Mark Hamill

In the post, Smith explains how grateful he is to be alive after surviving a massive heart attack one year ago today. He goes on to thank several people, including his wife, his daughter, and his friend - Jason Mewes. He also thanks Mewes' wife, Jordan Monsanto, who's acted as a producer on several of his more recent films, including Tusk, Yoga Hosers, and Hollyweed - and of course - Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

The Jay and Silent Bob characters were the connecting tissue between many of Smith's early works together in the View Askewniverse, an interconnected movie universe that predates the MCU and includes Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks 2.

This new film, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, will be the first live-action film Smith has done in this universe since 2006, and reports indicate that the film could be released before the end of the year.

RELATED: Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Will Hit Theaters Astonishingly Soon

The characters of Jay and Silent Bob haven't just appeared in Smith's View Askewniverse films, and they've made cameos around pop culture. T

With animated efforts like Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie back in 2013, or 2000's Clerks: The Animated Series, and character cameos in Scream 3 and even The Flash, they've stayed in the public consciousness, even when they haven't had starring roles.

Both characters are also set to appear in another upcoming Smith movie Moose Jaws, which will effectively tie Smith's older movies to his recent "True North Trilogy," which includes  Tusk, Yoga Hosers and the aforementioned Moose Jaws.

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is expected out later this year, and will star Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Jason Lee, Donnell Rawlings, and more.