After the surprise reveal he was working on the project, Kevin Smith has confirmed his Tusk 2 plans and teased new story details. At the time of its release, the 2014 horror comedy marked the second major departure for Smith from his normal comedy genre work, following the modestly received horror-thriller Red State. Much like the 2011 film before it, Tusk saw largely polarized reviews from critics and audiences alike, some who commended his genre-defying efforts and its central concept, though was seen by many as falling short of its potential.
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Despite the mixed reception, Tusk was intended to kick off a loosely interconnected horror trilogy, much in the same vein as Smith's comedic-skewing View Askewniverse that began with his feature debut Clerks and recently came back with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and Clerks III. Named the True North Trilogy, the series continued with 2016's Yoga Hosers, centered on the characters of his and Johnny Depp's daughters, Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith's Colleens, which was slammed by critics and audiences alike, many of whom called it the filmmaker's lowest point. After years of discussing his intentions to continue the True North trilogy, it looks like Smith has his next major chapter.
On a recent episode of his Fatman Beyond podcast, Kevin Smith opened up about reports of his developing a Tusk 2. The writer/director confirmed his plans for a sequel to his horror movie and teased new story details for the project, including one of his biggest inspirations for his idea. See what Smith shared below:
Ever since the heart attack I've been living on borrowed time. 2024 will mark the 10-year anniversary of Tusk…We could just leave it there and move on, but you know, I've got more story left I'd like to tell, there's a reason we left him in the zoo at the end. I always knew as we were making the movie I was just like, 'I'll totally do this again.' I thought we'd have the late great Michael Parks with us longer, but, sadly he's not, but I know we got Justin (Long). Early on I was always like, Well, eventually, they'll take them out of that walrus skin and try to rehabilitate them. And just like Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight Returns, he'll only ever see himself one way.
Then he becomes the Howard Howe, Justin Long becomes the crazy guy who's trying to turn people into something else, Chimera things, half-human and half-whatever. Last time it was walrus, this time…you'll see. I would be stupid not to make what I'm calling Tusk$. And yes, just like when Jim Cameron pitched Aliens, the 'S' in Tusks has a dollar sign through it, kids. It has everything to do with the plot of the story, but it's also just me nakedly communicating my ambition that I'm going to correct the past. If you live long enough, sometimes you do sh-t just to be like…I don't think we were wrong, I think we were early.
Smith's confirmation of Tusk 2 plans come shortly after Justin Long, who led the cast of the original film, shared that the filmmaker got in touch with him and multiple other costars to discuss getting back together for a sequel. His new story details also line up with his previous tease for what a follow-up could explore, with Long's Wallace somehow escaping his walrus transformation and struggling to return to his human life, ultimately continuing the cycle put forth by Michael Parks' Howard Howe. Despite Howard's death in the first Tusk movie, it is interesting to note that Smith's latest discussion for the sequel seems to indicate he had plans to bring Parks back for the follow-up, prior to the character actor's passing.
One of the more interesting takeaways from Smith's discussion about Tusk 2 plans is his feeling that he and his team weren't "wrong" with the first movie, but rather were just "early" in putting it out. While a cult following can sometimes gather around a movie even when it is released as what is perceived as the right time, the first Tusk movie having garnered its own following does make it interesting to see if Smith's planned follow-up will come at the right time to be a success. Until it comes, audiences can revisit the original Tusk streaming on HBO Max now.