The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently taking a massive toll on non-essential businesses. As such, Kevin Smith says it will play a role in his upcoming Mallrats sequel Twilight of the Mallrats.

During a FatMan Beyond LIVE! event, Smith spoke about the pandemic and how it may lead to the permanent closure of many well-known retail chains. "That means massive vacancies in malls, so they're predicting the entire implosion of malls," he said. "I mean, they were already teetering, but the entire implosion of malls across America. So, as a guy who's writing a movie set in a mall, I'm like, 'Well that's useful information for my line of work.' So I had to start writing the pandemic into the movie because clearly this is going to be remembered for all time."

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Twilight of the Mallrats is the followup to Smith's 1995 cult classic, which was the second film set within his "View Askewniverse." Mallrats didn't have a strong box office performance, but nonetheless, it developed a loyal fanbase.

No casting information or planned release date for Twilight of the Mallrats has been revealed. However, Smith did mention Jason Lee's Brodie Bruce by name when he announced the script was in development.

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