A follow-up to "Fletch Lives" had been discussed in the 1990s at Universal Studios. During his association with Universal after the production of "Mallrats" (this was because Gramercy Pictures, which released "Mallrats", was co-owned by Universal), Kevin Smith expressed interest in doing a third "Fletch" film as a sequel starring Chevy Chase but it never came to fruition. In June 2000, it was announced that Kevin Smith was set to write and direct a Fletch film at Miramax Films, after the rights to the books, which Universal Studios had owned, reverted. At the time, Miramax co-head Harvey Weinstein expressed the hope that a new "Fletch" series would be "Miramax Films' first-ever series."