It looks like Kevin Smith's "Mallrats" sequel will not be coming to theaters after all. But a "Mallrats" project should be headed to TV, Entertainment Weekly reports.

In an interview with WMMR's "The Preston & Steve Show," Smith, 45, said the change was made because he intended to self-finance the film, originally titled "Mallbrats," but then realized Universal did not want to give up "Mallrats."

"We started reconfiguring the idea of doing 'Mallrats' not as a film but as a series, and Universal and I are just about to close our deal to do 'Mallrats' the series," Smith told the Philadelphia radio show. "Then we take it out into the world and find a home for it. So, instead of doing a 'Mallrats' movie, I'm going to do 10 episodes of a 'Mallrats' series."

"Mallrats," which premiered in 1995 as a continuation of Smith's "View Askewniverse," was the Red Bank native's second major film after "Clerks" was released in 1994.

"We submitted the script and my agent comes back to me and he goes, 'Well, apparently Universal has never let a catalogue title go. Any title they own, they've retained,'" Smith continued. "They've never done something where they're like, 'Oh, you can take it back and go make a sequel.' Never in the history of the studio. So we entered a protracted negotiation with Universal trying to get it made in different pockets of the studio."

He said the "Mallrats" series would be filmed at Pennsylvania's Exton Square Mall, the location that had been pegged for the film.

In the same interview, Smith said his MGM TV series "Buckaroo Banzai," based on 1984 movie "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension," has found a home, but wouldn't say where.

Smith has yet another TV project in the works -- "Hollyweed," a half-hour comedy series set in a cannabis dispensary. When he plays Silent Bob in his movies, Smith's speech is usually relegated to a scant few words. But "Hollyweed," in which he co-stars, sees him with a rare speaking role.

Before all that happens, though, "Yoga Hosers," Smith's horror-comedy film starring his daughter, Harley Quinn, and Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp, along with Depp himself and Depp's ex, Vanessa Paradis, comes out on July 29.

Caution: Video contains explicit material.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.