Released in 1999, Dogma is the fourth film by writer and director Kevin Smith. The film follows the last scion, the 13th apostle, the muse Serendipity, and two prophets in the form of Jay and Silent Bob, who must all stop two fallen angels’ plan to employ an alleged loophole in Catholic dogma to return to Heaven after being cast out by God. If the fallen angels succeed in their mission, their success would prove God is not infallible and would destroy all creation. With God missing in action, it is up to a non-believer and a ragtag team to save existence itself.
The very concept of the film generated buzz and religious controversy, with The Catholic League denouncing it as blasphemy and staging organized protests. The film opened in theaters on November 12, 1999, and grossed $43 million worldwide making it the second highest-grossing film in the director’s career behind 2010’s Cop Out. While the film gained mixed to positive reviews from critics, audiences loved it, and it gained a cult following over the past few years.
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Smith has been revisiting many of his classic works, following them up with sequels and continuations, yet Dogma is one which the director is not interested in making a sequel to. With the passing of the first film’s stars like Alan Rickman and George Carlin, it appeared very unlikely a sequel would happen. Currently, Dogma is unavailable for digital sale or for streaming, due to the rights being owned personally by Bob and Harvey Weinstein. The association of Weinstein, who even pitched Dogma 2 to Kevin Smith shortly before the October 2017 New York Times and New Yorker pieces exposing Weinstein’s sexual abuses in Hollywood. Smith himself has said he has no interest in Dogma 2. Yet despite all that, if the rights’ situation could be sorted out (and even if Smith just blesses it without being involved), now might be the best time for Dogma 2.
Following Up on the New Last Scion in Dogma 2
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Dogma ends with the revelation that the main character, Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino), is pregnant with God’s child. Due to Bethany being the Last Scion, descended from one of Jesus’ siblings from Mary and Joseph, that makes the soon-to-be-born child the new Last Scion. Fitting in with the trend of legacy sequels, this child could be the new lead of the film and open up several exciting creative possibilities.
Dogma was released and set in 1999, meaning the unborn child would be about in their early 20s and a sequel could provide a spin on the ‘child born to be a savior’ trope that has been seen in many films, such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Following the day-to-day life of someone who is supposed to be great yet possibly living a mundane life is very much comedic material that fits with Smith’s filmography.
It also fits a recent trend in much of Smith’s later work. Clerks 2 ended with Dante expecting a child and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back revealed that Jay has a daughter, meaning the next generation of the franchise is coming about. This would be a great comedic spin on DC’s Teen Titans concept or Marvel’s Young Avengers, with the children of the View Asknewiverse uniting to save the day.
Closing Out Phase 2 of the View Askewniverse
Lions Gate FilmsMiramax
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe got audiences accustomed to a series of interconnected films, but years after Universal Studios released their stable of classic monster movies, Kevin Smith crafted the View Asknewniverse which connected many of Smith’s films with actors playing multiple roles across the movies with the one common denominator being the presence of Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith respectively). The series started with Clerks and was originally intended to end in 2001 with the release of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but later returned in 2006 for Clerks 2, which was an attempt to bring everything full circle.
Smith stayed away from the franchise for years, but following his near-death heart attack in 2018, Smith revisited his cinematic universe with the 2019 film Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, the first new entry in the View Asknewniverse in 13 years. The director is following it up with Clerks 3 and is also working on a sequel to Mallrats, creating essentially an unofficial Phase 2 to the franchise. That leaves Dogma as the only View Askewniverse film without a sequel (Chasing Amy does not have one, but a major part of that film is wrapped up in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot). In many ways, the grand epic that comes with the biblical elements of the story in many ways could be the final epic conclusion to the new Askewniverse age. Bringing back not just the characters from the first film, but appearances by many other characters from the franchise.
Dogma 2 Could Show Kevin Smith’s New Perspective
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When Dogma was released in 1999, Smith was one of the breakout filmmakers from the Sundance scene and his work had a specific Gen X vibe to it, very self-referential and cynical. Dogma was released the same year as other Gen X staple films like The Matrix and Fight Club, and those films in many ways reflected the cultural mindset of the 1990s and America specifically, was just as a new millennium was about to dawn, and before the country would eventually be changed forever in 2001.
Since then, Smith has undergone a drastic change both as a filmmaker and in his perspective on life. He has become very vocal in his praise for the things he’s passionate about, running multiple podcasts discussing movies and television he loves and admires, no longer wanting to focus on the negative. This in many ways is reflective of Smith’s recent film work, which is about reconnecting with old friends and making up for lost time. While Dogma was the creation of a young man in his 30s grappling with the various elements of his Catholic upbringing, a new Dogma could now be informed by a Smith who had a near-death experience and lived a life full of big experiences, from having a family to losing loved ones himself. The Kevin Smith of 2022 is a very different filmmaker than the one in 1999 and probably could say a lot about the world with a new Dogma.
Yet part of not wanting to do Dogma 2 might actually be part of Smith’s new perspective. He is crafting stories and revisiting characters and themes he wants to. He should not make Dogma 2 just to make a sequel to Dogma, but should make it because he has something to say; both Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and what is known about Clerks 3 suggest the filmmaker had a massive drive to tell these stories and revisit these characters one more time, and it should be the same with Dogma. Maybe there is no sequel to Dogma in the future, but a movie doesn’t need a sequel to be great, and Dogma is still a great watch after all these years.
