Is there ever going to be a Gremlins 3?

❘ Published: 2022-12-29T12:20:52

Warner Bros.

Will there be a Gremlins 3? Another sequel to Joe Dante’s Christmas classic is long overdue, but will we ever see Gizmo and co. return for a third movie?

First unleashed in 1984, Gremlins brought a zany, macabre strain of fun to the festive season, not to mention an unbearably cute mascot with Gizmo, the brown-and-white, big-eared mogwai.

In the decades since, Gremlins has been discovered by each new generation as a gateway horror and holiday rewatchable. It was followed by Gremlins 2: The New Batch, an altogether lighter, more satirical installment that traded the scares for laughs.

There’s been rumblings of a franchise revival for years – so, will there ever be a Gremlins 3?

Will Gremlins 3 happen?

There’s a bright light: Gremlins 3 is in the works, with Chris Columbus already confirming he’s written a script.

News of another entry in the Gremlins franchise emerged in 2013, with Vulture reporting Warner Bros. was in the midst of negotiations with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment to reboot it.

Soon, the project was described as a remake, with Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg tapped to produce – however, it was put on hold by 2015, and original star Zach Galligan confirmed the next movie wouldn’t be a reboot nor a remake.

In 2016, Galligan told Bleeding Cool: “Now, Chris Columbus didn’t have anything to do with Gremlins 2 – because by his own admission he didn’t see a franchise.

“There will never be a remake, there will never be a reboot, there will only be a sequel. He has been aggressively working on a Gremlins 3 that takes place in present day.

“He tantalizingly says there will be some new characters and some old characters – I guess in the style of a Force Awakens type sequel – one thing we know for sure is they have a writer on board [Carl Ellsworth].”

In 2017, Columbus told Slash Film the threequel would address the idea that Gizmo should be killed if his body can cause such mayhem with some spilled water. It will also return to the darker, meaner tone of the first movie.

“I’m really proud of the script. It is as twisted and dark as anything, so we’ll see,” he said.

“It’s always a budgetary conversation when we’re going to shoot it. I wanted to go back to the really twisted sensibility of the first movie. I found that was a very easy place for me to fall back into and start writing again so hopefully we’ll see that movie soon.”

Two years ago, Columbus reiterated that he wants to make Gremlins 3, and it will have minimal CGI. “I wrote a script, so there is an existing script. We’re working out some rights issues right now, so we’re just trying to figure out when the best time to make that film would be,” he told Collider.

“I would still do it the same way – I would do it as tangible puppets, not CGI. Maybe having — you know we had one stop-motion scene in the first Gremlins, but I don’t think I’d use much CGI in Gremlins 3.”

That’s everything we know about Gremlins 3 right now. In the meantime, check out our other TV and movie hubs below: