When "Clerks" hit it big, Jay and Silent Bob became cult heroes, and fans were happy to see them return with larger roles in Smith's follow up "Mallrats" (1995), a film funded by Gramercy that somewhat missed the mark in spite of its relatively big budget and star cast. Mewes' Jay remained true to form despite the film's faults, delivering unbelievable insults, highly quotable one-liners and oddly insightful life lessons in his inimitable clipped, almost lyrical diction. Now a fixture in the Smith creative universe known as View Askew, the actor appeared in nearly every film produced by the company, including 1996's "Drawing Flies" and the 1997-lensed features "Vulgar" and "Big Helium Dog". When Smith bounced back from "Mallrats" with the well-received "Chasing Amy" in 1997, Mewes was along once again bringing Jay to life. A featured role in Smith's "Dogma" (1999) further cemented his alliance with the filmmaker, and the character of Jay had become such a part of the popular cultural fabric that he even merited a cameo in the reference-dropping horror sequel "Scream 3" (2000).

Smith's highly-publicized dissatisfaction with ABC's handling of his very short-lived animated series "Clerks" (2000) didn't slow down production for long. In 2001 he returned to form with "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", a Hollywood parody that follows the titular characters on a quest to reclaim their likenesses from Miramax, which plans to release the derivative comedy "Bluntman & Chronic" based on their alter egos. Marking Mewes' first official starring role, the film would no doubt be a hit with Askew fans, and its irreverent and self-referential comedy could win over new converts as well.