More Mogwai mayhem is on the way. <\/p>\n
A third \u201cGremlins\u201d movie is officially in the works and eyeing a theatrical release ahead of the 2027 holiday season, Warner Bros. Discovery President and Chief Executive David Zaslav announced Thursday during the company\u2019s third-quarter earnings call<\/a>. The upcoming project is set to hit theaters Nov. 19, 2027, and will reunite original \u201cGremlins\u201d scribe Chris Columbus with Steven Spielberg\u2019s Amblin Entertainment, which produced the first two \u201cGremlins\u201d films. <\/p>\n Columbus will direct and produce the film and Spielberg returns as an executive producer, Zaslav said. The new \u201cGremlins\u201d film will be franchise\u2019s first movie in more than 30 years. Columbus will write the script with \u201cFinal Destination Bloodlines\u201d directing duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein. <\/p>\n Oscar nominee Columbus introduced audiences to the mysterious and maniacal ways of the Mogwai \u2014 furry, wide-eyed bipeds with giant ears \u2014 with the release of \u201cGremlins\u201d in 1984. The first film, directed by Joe Dante, established the three nonnegotiables of Mogwai care: Don\u2019t get them wet, don\u2019t feed them after midnight and don\u2019t expose them to bright light. Both the 1984 release and its 1990 sequel, also directed by Dante but written by Charles S. Haas, tracks the havoc that arises when the first two rules are ignored, from unstoppable spawning to unruly mutation into Gremlins. <\/p>\n The \u201cGremlins\u201d films starred Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Howie Mandel as the voice of two-toned Mogwai Gizmo and Frank Welker as the voices of the films\u2019 antagonists. <\/p>\n Though it has been decades since the last \u201cGremlins\u201d movie hit the big screen, the furballs got their own spotlight in the 2023 animated prequel TV series \u201cGremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The series, from showrunner and executive producer Tze Chun, took a deep look into its namesake creatures\u2019 origins, briefly hinted at in the first film by shopkeeper Mr. Wing (played by the Chinese American actor Keye Luke). \u201cSecrets of the Mogwai\u201d zooms in on Mr. Wing\u2019s relationship with Gizmo, who became a through line in the \u201cGremlins\u201d movies. <\/p>\n Series executive producer Brendan Hay told The Times in 2023 that setting \u201cSecrets of the Mogwai\u201d in 1920s China was \u201ca chance to own the somewhat throwaway origin that the Mogwai have in the films.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the films, it\u2019s clear that they\u2019re of Chinese origin, but it\u2019s not that developed,\u201d Hay said. \u201cThis is our chance to tell that story and really embrace it [by] actually try[ing] to find a place for Mogwai that fits into Chinese mythology, or at least builds off of existing Chinese mythology, and have fun in that world.\u201d<\/p>\n Galligan hinted this summer that a new \u201cGremlins\u201d movie was in the works while appearing at Comic-Con Manchester. According to a TikTok<\/a>, the actor said \u201cthey\u2019ve come up with a script\u201d and that Warner Bros. was \u201cincredibly interested in doing it, apparently it\u2019s waiting upon Mr. Spielberg to read it and approve it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGremlins\u201d is the latest beloved title rebooted at Warner Bros. Discovery in recent years. Others include \u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d <\/a>\u201cHarry Potter\u201d <\/a>and \u201cPractical Magic.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Times staff writers Tracy Brown and Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report. <\/p>\n