# View Askewniverse
The **View Askewniverse** is the shared fictional universe in which most films written and directed by [Kevin Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-smith) are set, named after his production company [View Askew Productions](https://www.edgepedia.org/view-askew-productions)[1](https://www.looper.com/969551/things-that-happen-in-every-view-askewniverse-movie/). It began with the independent comedy *Clerks* (1994) and grew across films, comics, and an animated television series, held together chiefly by the recurring stoner duo [Jay and Silent Bob](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-and-silent-bob), played by Jason Mewes and Smith himself[1](https://www.looper.com/969551/things-that-happen-in-every-view-askewniverse-movie/) • [2](https://www.thetvdb.com/lists/view-askewniverse). The universe predates the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a deliberately interconnected film series, although it was not codified as an ongoing concern until its fifth entry[3](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-smith-assembled-a-shared-universe-way-before-the-1798255087).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creator | Kevin Smith, writer and director; named for his production company View Askew Productions[1](https://www.looper.com/969551/things-that-happen-in-every-view-askewniverse-movie/) |
| First film | *Clerks* (1994), Smith's feature debut, sold to Miramax at Sundance and grossing $3.2 million[4](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-oral-history-of-clerks-25th-anniversary/) |
| Core films | *Clerks* (1994), *Mallrats* (1995), *Chasing Amy* (1997), *Dogma* (1999), *Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back* (2001), *Clerks II* (2006), *Jay and Silent Bob Reboot* (2019), *Clerks III* (2022)[5](https://tseivo.com/en/b/make-internet-great-again/t/BzW8P7yqPn/view-askewniverse-the-cinematic-universe-of-kevin-smith-which-appeared-long-before-marvel) |
| Connective characters | Jay and Silent Bob, the only characters who have appeared in all of Smith's View Askewniverse films[6](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2072786-jay-and-silent-bob-3-title-filming-update-kevin-smith/xwp_curated_content) |
| Internal chronology | *Mallrats* is the one core film set before *Clerks*; for story order it is watched first[7](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/view-askewniverse-movie-order-the-best-way-to-watch-kevin-smiths-films/) |
| Highest-grossing entries | *Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back* earned $30,085,147 (2001); *Clerks II* earned $24,148,068 (2006)[8](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr1548193541/) |
| Continuity style | Loose continuity; most films focus on different protagonists and can be watched independently[9](https://www.thepopverse.com/view-asknewniverse-askew-kevin-smith-jay-silent-bob-watch-order-how-to-where-streaming-movies-movie) |
## Origin
The universe began as a single low-budget film. Smith shot *Clerks* for $27,575, and the film was purchased by Miramax at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in 1994, won two awards at Cannes, and grossed $3.2 million at the box office[10](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/kevin_smith_interview/) • [4](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-oral-history-of-clerks-25th-anniversary/). Drawing on his circle of acquaintances in New Jersey, Smith created a cinematic world of intertwining stories and characters that would form the basis of his subsequent films[4](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-oral-history-of-clerks-25th-anniversary/).
The shared-universe idea developed gradually. According to Smith, the View Askewniverse was born around 1995, when someone asked him whether he had seen the fan sites devoted to *Clerks* on the internet[11](https://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/interview-kevin-smith/). [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s retrospective notes that the initial three films, *Clerks*, *Mallrats*, and *Chasing Amy*, were discussed as a "Jersey trilogy" comparable to loose trilogies by other directors, not as a linked franchise; *Mallrats* was not marketed as a spiritual sequel to *Clerks*, just a follow-up from the same director, and only the fifth film, *[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back)*, took full advantage of the shared-universe premise[3](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-smith-assembled-a-shared-universe-way-before-the-1798255087).
## Films and structure
The core sequence comprises eight features from *Clerks* (1994) to *[Clerks III](https://www.edgepedia.org/clerks-iii)* (2022)[5](https://tseivo.com/en/b/make-internet-great-again/t/BzW8P7yqPn/view-askewniverse-the-cinematic-universe-of-kevin-smith-which-appeared-long-before-marvel). For a first viewing, guides recommend watching the eight core films in release order, from *Clerks* through *Clerks III*; the only change for story chronology is to place *Mallrats* before *Clerks*, since it is a prequel[7](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/view-askewniverse-movie-order-the-best-way-to-watch-kevin-smiths-films/).
**Loose continuity.** Unlike the [Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-cinematic-universe), the View Askewniverse has no driving storyline, and most films center on different protagonists; continuity between projects is loose and a majority of characters never cross over[9](https://www.thepopverse.com/view-asknewniverse-askew-kevin-smith-jay-silent-bob-watch-order-how-to-where-streaming-movies-movie). With the exception of the three *Clerks* films and the two Jay and Silent Bob films, which are sequels, the other movies in the universe stand completely on their own, and a viewer does not need to watch every View Askew film to understand the others[1](https://www.looper.com/969551/things-that-happen-in-every-view-askewniverse-movie/). Recurring touches include the fictional Nails cigarette brand and the comic-within-the-universe *Bluntman and Chronic*, based on Jay and Silent Bob[9](https://www.thepopverse.com/view-asknewniverse-askew-kevin-smith-jay-silent-bob-watch-order-how-to-where-streaming-movies-movie).
**Jay and Silent Bob.** The two dope dealers from outside the Quick Stop convenience store are the universe's connective thread, wandering through nearly every story regardless of its setting[12](https://guides.justwatch.com/us/kevin-smith-movies-in-order-view-askewniverse-explained). They are also the only characters who have appeared in all of Smith's View Askewniverse films, including *Clerks*, *Mallrats*, *Chasing Amy*, and *Dogma*[6](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2072786-jay-and-silent-bob-3-title-filming-update-kevin-smith/xwp_curated_content). Their return in *Mallrats* solidified the larger universe of films after *Clerks* established it[12](https://guides.justwatch.com/us/kevin-smith-movies-in-order-view-askewniverse-explained).
## Beyond the films
The universe extends past the theatrical features into comics and television. The View Askewniverse is described as a fictional universe featured in several films, comics, and a television series[2](https://www.thetvdb.com/lists/view-askewniverse), and the comic *Bluntman and Chronic*, created in-universe by the artists of *Chasing Amy*, exists as a published title as well[13](https://sagalist.com/view-askewniverse). Popverse notes that fully exploring the View Askewniverse requires venturing beyond film and television, and that Jay and Silent Bob have also cameoed in numerous comics, such as *Angel: After the Fall* #5 and *Green Arrow* #6 (2001)[9](https://www.thepopverse.com/view-asknewniverse-askew-kevin-smith-jay-silent-bob-watch-order-how-to-where-streaming-movies-movie).
The universe also anticipates the self-referential habits of later franchises. In *Jay and Silent Bob Reboot*, the premise is that a reboot of the in-universe film *Bluntman and Chronic* inconveniences the real Jay and Silent Bob, who travel to Hollywood to stop it; Popverse observes that because Bluntman and Chronic exist as comic characters inside the live-action films, the movie takes place in a universe within another cinematic universe[9](https://www.thepopverse.com/view-asknewniverse-askew-kevin-smith-jay-silent-bob-watch-order-how-to-where-streaming-movies-movie). Smith and his daughter [Harley Quinn Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/harley-quinn-smith), one of the film's stars, compared *Reboot* to *Avengers: Endgame*, not for scope or quality but for the position it holds in the canon of a shared universe[14](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/jay-and-silent-bob-reboot-movie-review-kevin-smith/).
## Commerce and reception
The franchise's theatrical earnings are modest by studio standards but substantial for its origins. *Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back* opened on August 24, 2001 through Miramax and earned $30,085,147 in 2,765 theaters; *Clerks II* opened on July 21, 2006 through [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) and earned $24,148,068 in 2,150 theaters[8](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr1548193541/).
*Dogma*, the fourth film, spent years out of circulation. Controversy around its story of Bethany Sloane, a woman of no faith drawn into a raunchy, R-rated Bible adventure, contributed to a complicated rights situation that pushed the movie from its originally intended 1998 debut; Smith began efforts to restore the film as early as 2020, and it eventually returned to theaters for an anniversary re-release[15](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/story-behind-dogma-disappearance-from-circulation-how-kevin-smith-got-it-back).
Smith's rights position supports the franchise's longevity: while distributors may control certain of his movies, he continues to own the characters of the View Askewniverse, in which Jay and Silent Bob serve as anchor beings[16](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/kevin-smith-reveals-jay-silent-bob-3-title-and-story/).
## Ongoing projects
Smith announced on his *Fatman Beyond* podcast in December 2023 that he was writing another Jay and Silent Bob movie[16](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/kevin-smith-reveals-jay-silent-bob-3-title-and-story/). In December 2025 the title was confirmed as *Jay and Silent Bob: Store Wars*, initially set to shoot in Canada but rescheduled to film in another location sometime in 2026; Smith attributed the delay in part to the trade war between the U.S. government and Canada, which cost the production its Canadian financing[6](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2072786-jay-and-silent-bob-3-title-filming-update-kevin-smith/xwp_curated_content). The story follows *Clerks III*, in which the pair run their own cannabis dispensary now that marijuana is legal in New Jersey; a rival dispensary opens across the street, and Smith describes the result as basically *Spy vs. Spy*, a stoner comedy of the highest order[17](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2082102-jay-and-silent-bob-new-movie-plot-update-clerks-kevin-smith).
## References
1. [Things That Happen In Every View Askewniverse Movie, Looper](https://www.looper.com/969551/things-that-happen-in-every-view-askewniverse-movie/)
2. [View Askewniverse list, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/lists/view-askewniverse)
3. [Kevin Smith assembled a shared universe way before the Avengers, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-smith-assembled-a-shared-universe-way-before-the-1798255087)
4. [The Improbable True Story of How 'Clerks' Was Made, Vice](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-oral-history-of-clerks-25th-anniversary/)
5. [View Askewniverse: the cinematic universe of Kevin Smith, Tseivo](https://tseivo.com/en/b/make-internet-great-again/t/BzW8P7yqPn/view-askewniverse-the-cinematic-universe-of-kevin-smith-which-appeared-long-before-marvel)
6. [Jay and Silent Bob 3 Gets Title, Filming Update From Kevin Smith, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2072786-jay-and-silent-bob-3-title-filming-update-kevin-smith/xwp_curated_content)
7. [View Askewniverse Movie Order: The Best Way to Watch Kevin Smith's Films, DocumentaryTube](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/view-askewniverse-movie-order-the-best-way-to-watch-kevin-smiths-films/)
8. [Franchise: View Askewniverse, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr1548193541/)
9. [How to watch Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse in release and chronological order, Popverse](https://www.thepopverse.com/view-asknewniverse-askew-kevin-smith-jay-silent-bob-watch-order-how-to-where-streaming-movies-movie)
10. [Celebrating Milestones with Kevin Smith, Circuit Training, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/kevin_smith_interview/)
11. [Interview: Kevin Smith, SciFiNow](https://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/interview-kevin-smith/)
12. [How To Watch Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse Movies In Order, JustWatch](https://guides.justwatch.com/us/kevin-smith-movies-in-order-view-askewniverse-explained)
13. [View Askewniverse, SagaList](https://sagalist.com/view-askewniverse)
14. [Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Review: An Epic Comedic Event 25 Years in the Making, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/jay-and-silent-bob-reboot-movie-review-kevin-smith/)
15. [The Story Behind Dogma's Disappearance From Circulation, And How Kevin Smith Got It Back, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/story-behind-dogma-disappearance-from-circulation-how-kevin-smith-got-it-back)
16. [Kevin Smith Reveals Jay & Silent Bob 3 Title and Story, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/kevin-smith-reveals-jay-silent-bob-3-title-and-story/)
17. [Kevin Smith Confirms New Jay & Silent Bob Movie, Gives Plot Update, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2082102-jay-and-silent-bob-new-movie-plot-update-clerks-kevin-smith)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license