Kevin Smith says ‘Dogma’ sequel will be shaped by his loss of faith

Kevin Smith, the creator of the 1999 cult classic movie “Dogma”, said that the movie was written by a Catholic who believed every word of it, but the sequel will come from a man who left his religion behind.

Despite the backlash from Christian groups at the time of the film’s release, the “Dogma” director maintains that his film is “not only pro-faith but also pro-Catholic.” Now, almost three decades later, Smith is crafting a sequel informed by a very different worldview.

“When I was making the sequel to ‘Dogma,’ I came across a wrinkle that didn’t exist when I wrote and directed ‘Dogma,'” Smith told Fox News Digital in an interview. “‘Dogma’ is a movie written and directed by someone who believes everything you see on the screen.”

“The old man who wrote, who led the pursuit, no longer has the same faith,” Smith said, referring to himself today. “I don’t carry that cross.”

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“Dogma” is a theological comedy that tells the story of a pair of fallen angels, played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, trying to return to heaven. They are opposed by the angel Metatron and a distant blood relative of Jesus Christ, played by Linda Fiorentino and Alan Rickman, respectively.

The star-studded cast includes Salma Hayek, Chris Rock and George Carlin, among others.

Smith shared that he was concerned that the controversy surrounding the film at the time of its release might lead audiences to expect a “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”-style satire. But he said “Dogma” was “respectful.”

Kevin Smith (L) and Jason Mewes (R) arrive for “Dogma: The Resurrection Tour – A 25th Anniversary Celebration with Kevin Smith” at AMC The Grove 14 on April 20, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Wilbert Roberts/Getty Images for Triple Media Film)

“It supports everything, all the tenets of the Catholic faith,” Smith said, adding that although the film “takes a hairy look at the foundational organization, the Catholic Church,” he guessed most of the protesters in the film had not actually watched it.

Smith said he still has deep respect for religious people, adding that his late mother was a true believer.

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“I wish I could be one of those cats again. Life was so much easier when I had faith,” he said.

The filmmaker shared that this February will mark three years since his stay at Sierra Tucson, a mental health treatment center in Arizona. Looking back, Smith said losing his religion deprived him of the sense of security he once relied on during difficult times.

“Honestly, I think if I still had my faith, I probably wouldn’t go into an institution… when you have faith, you have no problems, man. You’ll always be protected.”

“Those of us who don’t practice our faith, who don’t have faith, feel like we’re alone. It’s easy to break that when the weight of the world is on our shoulders,” he added.

When asked what changed between “Dogma” and its sequel, Smith simply said, “27 years and life.”

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He was unable to pinpoint any specific event that caused him to break away from religion, but he cited two influential moments.

The moment came during his long-running podcast, “SModcast,” which he co-hosts with friend and filmmaker Scott Mosier. Mosier, whom Smith describes as an agnostic or “borderline atheist”, opposed the idea of ​​an afterlife in a section discussing religion.

Kevin Smith attends the first week screening of SYFY’s “Deadly Class” hosted by Smith at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles on January 14, 2019. (Paul Butterfield/Getty Images)

Mosier suggested that Smith’s large ego prevented him from imagining a world that would continue without him. He compared human consciousness with data stored on a hard disk.

“And he said, ‘There’s a lot of information on your laptop. Tons of data… What happens when it disappears? Where does that information go?’ “The moment I started thinking of myself as a hard drive, it became harder to think of myself as a child of light,” Smith said.

Another moving realization came when he noticed a Buddhist wall hanging in his own home, which he had passed many times before. It read: “In this lifetime you realize your divinity.”

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Smith interpreted the message as a call to individual responsibility rather than surrendering control to a higher power.

“You don’t need to calm yourself down like you did when you were a kid. It’s important to remember that you’re in charge. Why do you keep handing the wheel over to someone who’s not actually there?” He explained to Fox News Digital that even for Christians, “there is no physical manifestation of Jesus at this point until he returns.”

“I felt like I was being irresponsible with my life. I was turning everything into a ghost, a Holy Spirit, but still a ghost.”

Smith said this shift in belief will define the upcoming sequel.

“This is the prism through which I will write the sequel to ‘Dogma,'” Smith said. “This time it will be a little different, it will be fueled by a completely different understanding.”

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Despite everything, the director admitted that he could still be wrong about faith. But he said he felt he lived a moral life and treated others well.

“We Catholics have insured ourselves. So there is always purgatory“