KEVIN SMITH says his next movie will be his last . . . and it'll be "Clerks 3".  Smith was originally going to direct a hockey movie called "Hit Somebody", but that's being turned into a miniseries.  So he's going back to the "Clerks" universe.

The only thing that could stop a third installment from being made is JEFF ANDERSON . . . who plays video clerk Randal Graves.  He has said that he likes the way "Clerks 2" ended the story, and doesn't really want to mess with that.