"We were largely embraced because of her" - Mallrats director Kevin Smith speaks about visiting Comic Con with late actress Shannen Doherty

Mallrats director Kevin Smith recently spoke to People Magazine and recalled the late actress Shannen Doherty. The actress passed away on July 13, 2024, after a long battle with cancer. The director was attending San Diego Comic-Con 2024, on Saturday, July 27, 2024, when he spoke to the publication. He recalled the Mallrats actress and discussed how Comic-Con "embraced" them because of Shannen.

Speaking about Shannen Doherty, Smith said that Mallrats "didn't do well" when it was released. However, when they went to Comic-Con, Shannen "drew the attention" because she was famous and, at the time, famous people didn't attend the event.

"It was weird when it came out, it didn't do well. But when we first came to the Comic-Con 29 years ago, man, we were embraced and we were largely embraced because of her, because she had the credibility in the crowd.”

Shannen Doherty, best known for her roles in Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed, had a long and successful career. After fighting the disease for almost eight years, in November 2023, she announced that her stage 4 breast cancer had now spread to her bones. In an Instagram post, she shared with her followers the news that her cancer had spread to her brain, for which she had undergone surgery in 2023.

---

“That'd be a cool thing to do”: Kevin Smith opens up considering a sequel to Mallrats dedicated to Shannen Doherty

As Kevin Smith talked about Shannen Doherty and the crew being “embraced” at Comic-Con because of her, he also spoke about wanting to create a sequel to Mallrats. He said that the film, if made, would be dedicated to Doherty, who "really wanted" to do the film.

He stated that the title of the movie would be Twilight of the Mallrats, and said that it would be a "cool thing to do" for the late actress.

"At the very least, as a 'for Shannen', that'd be a cool thing to do,” the director said.

During his conversation with People Magazine, Kevin also mentioned how he and Shannen Doherty discussed Vulgarathon, which would feature eight of his films, including Mallrats. Recalling his last conversation with the star, the director said they spoke about her going to Jersey for the Vulgarathon since she had done some of the "cons and whatnot."

"The last conversations we were having was about her coming out to Jersey for the Vulgarathon because she had done a bunch of cons and whatnot, and she met the Mallrats contingency and stuff. So I was like, 'Oh my God, Shannen, you come and watch the movie in our theater and stuff, that'll just put you on the throne',” the directed said.

The actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015 and underwent several surgeries and treatments to combat it. Two years later, in 2017, she shared the news with her fans that her cancer had gone into remission. However, in 2019, she told fans that the disease had made a comeback.

Her condition worsened over the years as the cancer began spreading to other parts of her body, including the bones and the brain. Often sharing updates about her health with her fans, she kept mentioning how she did not want to die and was “not done living.”

Kevin Smith’s Mallrat was released in 1995. The comedy movie starred Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Joey Lauren Adams, Michael Rooker, Ben Affleck, and Shannen Doherty. The movie was an instant success and received many awards and nominations.