Kevin Smith reveals his biggest mid-heart attack regret

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Speaking as someone who's survived two major open-heart surgeries, I feel as if Kevin Smith and I might have a bit more in common since the View Askewniverse suffered a heart attack in February 2018. While our cardiac conditions may differ, that existential dread related to almost having shuffled off this mortal coil will always remain. Personally, the last time that I'd coded atop a stale hospital mattress, all I could think about was two things: Tell my wife I love her. And someone get this dying man his headphones so he can listen to Failure's "Fantastic Planet" on his way to Hell.

As for Kevin Smith, the CLERKS filmmaker recently revealed to Entertainment Weekly that of all the things barreling through his mind mid-heart attack, his chief regret was the thought of YOGA HOSERS being his final film. Thankfully, Smith survived the ordeal, and is now set to release his bucketlist project this October 15, JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT.

“When I had the heart attack and I was on the table they were like, ‘You might die,'” Smith told EW. “I was actually okay with that. I was like, I’ve had a great life. The only regret I had was, Man, I wish I had gotten to make Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, because now the last movie I ever made was Yoga Hosers. F—! But I did get to make Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and now I feel like, well, if this was it, if I never got to make another movie — or if the heart came back and was like, ‘Aha!’ and f—ing finally killed me — I’d be okay with this being the last movie.”

In the upcoming comedy, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) travel to Hollywood with the intent of stopping a "Bluntman and Chronic" movie from being made. Along their journey, the stoner duo learn that Jay is the baby daddy to a now-young woman whom he's never met.

In continuing his talk with EW, Smith explained that JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT is very much a culmination of his cinematic life's work:

“It’s a real scrapbook of everything I’ve ever done over the last 25 years, everything since Clerks,” Smith explained. “There’s a mini-Clerks sequel in it, there’s a mini-Mall Rats sequel in it, there’s an eight-minute Chasing Amy sequel in it, and there’s even a little Dogma sequel in it. So, I got to pull all my old toys out of the attic and play with them again, man. It feels like a nice closing statement to my career, if that is it. It’s almost going to be a shame if I wind up living, and keep making more movies, because I’ll fuck it up again. But this movie is really wonderful.”

Smith and a whole gaggle of his friends are headed to San Diego Comic-Con this Saturday, where the CHASING AMY helmer plans to talk up JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT as well as any other potential projects that he has coming down the pike. The panel is bound to yield plenty of surprises, seeing as Smith is a bonafide showman at heart, and always leaves his fans wanting more. We'll be sure to bring you any major updates from the panel as our 2019 Comic-Con coverage continues.