In case you’ve forgotten, or potentially not even seen it, 1998’s "SLC Punk!" told the hilarious and bitter story of two unruly punks, Stevo and Heroin Bob, trying to maintain an anarchist way of life in the cultural wasteland, of the very unpunk conservative suburbs of Salt Lake City circa 1980. An irreverent and self-aware satire about maintaining the punk ethos while trying to figure out next steps in life, this funny coming-of age tale was often compared to slacker/druggie-centric films like "Trainspotting" and "Clerks." But as wry, sharply written and critically acclaimed as "SLC Punk!" was, the indie was a generally little-seen portrait of the clash between the blind conformism of the suburbs and the rebellious punk lifestyle.
Writer/director James Merendino made several films before and since, but none seemed to posses the same spark as his semi-autobiographical look at his nihilistic teenage years (which was nominated for a Best Screenplay Independent Spirit Award award). Nor have they yielded a lot of success, so Merendino has come back to the well for a “SLC Punk!” sequel.
Titled, "SLC Punks: Punk is Dead!," four of the main characters of "SLC Punks!"—played Devon Sawa, Adam Pascal, James Duval and Michael Goorjian—return to reprise their roles in the film’s follow-up. The film’s original lead, Matthew Lillard, however, has evidently moved on. So far most of the details about the follow-up are being kept under wraps, except the fact that fan-favorite Heroin Bob returns from the dead. However, from the looks of the trailer, ‘Punk is Dead’ centers on a new generation of punks (one of them being Bob’s son) with the old guard providing… grizzled cynicism? It is admittedly just a brief teaser. As Merendino himself said, “I am not revealing all of the characters or even much of the story. There’s more, much more. Enjoy.” No release date or distributor yet. Presumably it’ll be aiming for a festival showing when the movie’s ready to go.