After decades of rumors and false starts, Warner Bros. Discovery is finally ready to make the Gremlins franchise multiply in November 2027 with the release of Gremlins 3. Variety reports that Steven Spielberg will executive produce the threequel while Chris Columbus – who wrote the original film – returns to the franchise as the director.
Despite Gremlins and its cult-classic sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch sharing the same director in Joe Dante, the films are notoriously different in tone. While the original film is occasionally frightening, at times disturbing, wacky where it needs to be and suitably cute in spots thanks to its furry hero Gizmo, Gremlins 2 is a madcap parody of the first film that stares directly into the camera and dares the viewer to look away. It’s got gremlins modeled after George and Lenny from Of Mice and Men, it’s got an electricity gremlin, a vegetable gremlin, a spider gremlin, a bat gremlin and, yes, it’s got Hulk Hogan. Key & Peele brilliantly lampooned the film’s writing process in my favorite sketch from the series, which I can only imagine is a near-accurate approximation of a day in the writer’s room.
In bringing Gremlins 3 to screens 37 years after the relative box-office disappointment of Gremlins 2 (it made $41 million worldwide 6 years after the original banked $212 million), one has to wonder what kind of movie we’ll be getting. I would argue that Gremlins 2 was ahead of its time in its self-aware storytelling that openly mocked the original premise, but that might not be the right move considering the niche appeal of The New Batch. And there’s science to back that up! According to an informal poll on my Instagram story, 59% of you would favor a film that’s closer in tone to the original. That said, I think there are some things filmmakers should bear in mind as they add water to this series.
WHAT TO DO:
- Give us unique gremlin designs. No matter how you feel about Gremlins 2, you can’t deny that Rick Baker knocked it out of the park in terms of creature aesthetics. From the adorably vicious Mohawk mogwai to the googly-eyed Daffy gremlin, there’s a ton of personality in every frame of Gremlins 2. I love the designs from the first film, but they all look the same aside from Stripe’s tuft of white hair. Plus, think of the merchandising!
- Bring back Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates. The Peltzers are a package deal, and I can’t imagine featuring Gizmo without Billy and Kate. And, for the love of Mr. Wing, give us a happy ending for these characters! Legacy sequels seem to hate doing that.
- Push the boundaries. Give us something we’ve never seen before. Gremlins at a theme park! Gremlins on a cruise! Gremlins running for office!
WHAT NOT TO DO:
- Don’t set it at Christmas time. Christmas served a narrative purpose in the original Gremlins by A) making Gizmo a last-minute surprise gift for Billy and B) ratcheting up the mayhem by having the villainous troublemakers ruin “the most wonderful time of the year” for a small Norman Rockwell-esque town. Setting this one at Christmas would be weirdly limiting and unnecessary.
- Don’t rely on CGI. It goes without saying that much of the charm of both Gremlins films is the puppetry. Although CGI will certainly help with crowd shots, Gremlins 3 needs to be practical, treating these characters like The Muppets.
- Don’t rush it. It’s taken a long time for Gremlins 3 to get here, and I’d hate to think that Warner Bros. Discovery is just throwing this onto the 2027 release schedule to fill a slot. If the movie’s not ready, push back the release date. I’d rather a great Gremlins 3 that propels this franchise forward than a thrown-together rush job. Gizmo deserves better than that.
Views: 14