In the film, Randal Graves, after surviving a massive heart attack, enlists his friends and fellow clerks Dante Hicks, Elias Grover, and Jay and Silent Bob to make a movie about their lives at the Quick Stop Convenience store that started it all.
[2] Fifteen years after Dante and Randal bought the Quick Stop convenience store,[a] the pair's lives continue much as before, including hockey games on the roof and hanging out with Jay and Silent Bob, who have taken over the former RST Video and turned it into a legal marijuana dispensary.
[b] One day, while Elias and his friend Blockchain are trying to sell their new NFT kites, which contain an image of the Buddy Christ, Randal suffers a severe heart attack.
After a harrowing audition process, Randal decides he will not only write and direct but also star in the film as himself, alongside Dante in a supporting role.
Silent Bob is made the cinematographer, deciding to shoot the movie in black-and-white, while Elias and Blockchain are hired as production assistants.
As the shoot for the tentatively-titled Inconvenience continues, Dante grows exasperated with Randal's micromanagement, and is especially hurt by the fact that he is only a minor character in the script.
After Randal tries to recreate the donkey show that took place at Mooby's, Dante has a panic attack and leaves the set because the location reminds him of Becky.
Later, a drunk Dante finally confronts Randal for never respecting him or acknowledging his support over the years, and for forcing him to relive the loss of his wife and child.
As Blockchain, Jay, and Silent Bob go outside to fly one of the NFT kites, Randal mourns Dante and is unknowingly joined by his spirit.
Additionally, Fred Armisen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Bobby Moynihan, Melissa Benoist, Chris Wood, Anthony Michael Hall, Danny Trejo, Ralph Garman, and Impractical Jokers' Brian Quinn, Sal Vulcano, James Murray, and Joe Gatto all appear as actors auditioning for Inconvenience.
Jake Richardson also appears as an auditioner, having previously played one of Jay and Silent Bob's customers alongside Suplee in Clerks II.
Smith also revealed that he would like to crowdfund Clerks III, either through Kickstarter or Indiegogo, with contributors receiving anything from DVDs, posters, and even roles as extras in the film.
[9] This script featured a story about Randal having a nervous breakdown after the Quick Stop is destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, and trying to manage it by getting in line for a film called Ranger Danger a year before it opens.
[16] The initial plans to film Clerks III came to a halt in 2017, when Smith announced that one of the four leads, whom he later revealed to be Anderson, opted out of reprising his role despite a completed script.
[10] In July 2019, Smith announced that he would do a live reading of the original, now-aborted Clerks III script at the First Avenue Playhouse in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.
[19][20] That same month, Smith revealed at San Diego Comic Con that he was writing a new script for Clerks III and promised to make the film.
On October 1, 2019, Smith confirmed on Instagram that Clerks III was happening and that Jeff Anderson agreed to reprise his role as Randal.
[24][25] In July 2021, Lionsgate obtained the rights to produce and distribute the film, while also confirming Rosario Dawson and Trevor Fehrman would reprise their roles of Becky Scott and Elias Grover from Clerks II respectively.
[11] Clerks III had its world premiere on August 24, 2022, in Los Angeles, followed by a roadshow tour that began September 4, 2022, in Red Bank, New Jersey.
The site's critics consensus reads: "Clerks III isn't even supposed to be here today – but this surprisingly emotional return to the Quick Stop wraps up the trilogy in fan-pleasing fashion.