Kevin Smith’s celebrated 1999 comedy, Dogma, will soon be re-released in theaters and made available on streaming for the first time, now that the director has finally secured the rights to the film after its one-time owner, Harvey Weinstein, held it “hostage” for years.
Smith confirmed the acquisition during a recent interview on The Hashtag Show, explaining that the rights had been bought off Weinstein recently, which allowed him to finally regain them. “The movie had been bought away from the guy that had it for years,” he said. “The company that bought it, we met with them a couple months ago. They were like, ‘Would you be interested in re-releasing it and touring it like you do with your movies?’ I said, ‘100 percent, are you kidding me? Touring a movie that I know people like, and it’s sentimental and nostalgic? We’ll clean up.’”
Smith then expanded on ideas of what he could do to celebrate the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon-starring film. “Right now, 2024 is [the movie’s] 25th anniversary. November is when we came out. So, I think 2025, it looks like, is when the movement’s going to happen there. Back on home video, then back out in theaters, and I’ll tour it and stuff like that.”
But it won’t end there — the Clerks director is also musing on ways to expand the Dogma universe with new media, including “sequels, TV versions, in terms of extending the story.” These projects may even involve original cast members. “[It’s] something we could never do before,” Smith said. “All those people who worked on it are still viable.”
For years, Smith has lamented that the film was being held hostage by the Weinsteins, who refused to sell it back to him. This past January, he explained at a live event that he even made a $1 million dollar offer to obtain the rights, but was turned down. During that time, he refused to be involved in anything related to Dogma on the basis that Harvey Weinstein had “any connectivity” to it.
Now, though, the chains have been broken, and fans can expect to jump into all the warmth and nostalgia the 1999 film has to offer. Watch its original trailer below.
Smith’s most recent film, The 4:30 Movie, is out now. Revisit Consequence’s interview with Smith from earlier this month, where he discussed the state of the film industry, his career, and more.