In a time where many franchises from the second golden age of cinema (the '70s and '80s, that is) continue to release new movies, such as Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,Indiana Jones, Alien, and Star Wars, it's odd to consider that there are some that have been forgotten. One that comes to mind is Gremlins, which surprisingly only ever reached two movies, despite them both being financial hits and still hugely popular to this day (and not to mention enormously merchandisable).
The original 1984 movie stars Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates and revolves around a mogwai; a cute and furry creature that when exposed to water, multiplies, and whose offspring evolves into the slimy and repulsive 'Gremlins'. The creature is named 'Gizmo', and alongside Galligan's Billy Peltzer, is the protagonist of the original film and its 1990 sequel Gremlins: The New Batch. While it's considered a Christmas classic, it's still surprisingly dark. The second installment, however, operates within the satirical and spoofy territory - something the first is still no stranger to.
It wouldn't be such a stretch to suggest that Gizmo is the main source of inspiration behind The Mandalorian's Grogu (aka 'Baby Yoda'), given the striking similarities between the two - the ears, the size, the big eyes, and the infectiously adorable nature. But that's not the only way the franchise lives on in modern pop culture. The Gremlins have appeared in recent movies, such as Space Jam 2: A New Legacy and The Lego Batman Movie. They have also featured in the LEGO Dimensions video games, which included LEGO figurines of the characters.
But other than cameos and ongoing merchandise, the Gremlins are nowhere else to be seen. However, now that Warner Bros. fully owns the IP, it's likely that it won't be left alone for too long. In fact, there are rumors about an upcoming third movie. So let's shine a light on the franchise once again (but not directly, of course) and find out what's really happening in the world of Gremlins. Will there be another Gremlins movie? Or has the franchise been exposed to sunlight for too long? Or is Hollywood thinking about pouring some water on it and generating some new sequels? Let's find out.
While many fans of the films probably don't want any new sequels - especially now that we live in an age where CGI has taken over film like a Gremlin in its own right - we're surprised it's been over three decades since the last movie. The original film was directed by Joe Dante, with a screenplay by Chris Columbus and Steven Spielberg as producer. While it's now considered a classic, the movie was not without controversy due to its violence (which is virtually non-existent by today's standards).
Its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch picks up where the first film left off, following Billy as he tries to climb the corporate ladder at the Clamp Center (a New York high-rise company whose goals are hilariously ambiguous) when Gizmo enters his life all over again, once again inadvertently bringing with him a whole world of trouble. Both movies were hugely successful and their merchandising lines were enough to put even the likes of the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers to shame. But is a threequel due to pop out? Or will the series undergo a metamorphosis?
In 2015, Zach Galligan put speculation to rest by confirming that the next movie would be a sequel and not a reboot, and in the following year he elaborated on the project, saying, "Warner Bros. definitely wants it, Chris Columbus wants to do it because he'd like to undo the Gremlins 2 thing as he wasn't thrilled with it, and Spielberg wants to." While the sequel is still popular with fans, it is a jarring shift from the tone of the original film which is entirely a comedy-horror. The New Batch, however, is a straight-up parody and plays the entire concept for jokes (successfully, too), more so than the original does.
So it sounds like a third film really is on the cards, and that it may go back down the comedy-horror route (although we'll take a Gremlins 3 however it's packaged - even if there's some decent CGI involved). But what about a plot? While very little is known about the project as a whole, some insight was given as to what it may be about, but as it's now considered old news it should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. In an interview with Bleeding Cool in 2016, Galligan stated that Columbus was "aggressively working on a Gremlins 3", and in the following year, Columbus elaborated on the project.
He said that his script was "twisted and dark" and revolved around the following concept: "If all the Gremlins come from getting Gizmo wet and feeding his mogwai offspring after midnight, should Gizmo be eliminated?" And that's about as much as we know about the script so far. An update was given in 2020, however, in which Columbus confirmed that CGI was out of the question (which is pretty refreshing to hear these days - not only that, but the original puppets still hold up pretty well today).
It's possible that a Gremlins 3 will never see the light of day (or perhaps it did, which is why it hasn't happened yet!), but you'll be thrilled to know that an upcoming animated series titled Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is definitely in the works, which is reported to be 10 episodes in length and serve a prequel to the original film, taking place in 1920s Shanghai as it follows a 10-year-old Sam Wing as he first encounters Gizmo. The show will star B. D. Wong from the Jurassic World movies and animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and will air on Cartoon Network soon.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Fantasy & Science Fiction