It’s official: Gremlins 3 is on the way. But fans are ‘begging’ for the project to be dropped after the ‘terrible’ second film.
It was confirmed yesterday by Warner Bros. Discovering CEO and president, David Zaslav, that the long-rumoured third film is in production with Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein co-writing the screenplay.
Steven Spielberg, who had a cameo role and was a producer on Gremlins, is signed on as an executive producer for the upcoming film.
Plot details and cast are yet to be revealed, but Gremlins 3 is slated to be released on November 19, 2027.
Reports suggest Joe Dante won’t be returning to direct the third film, with Chris Columbus instead helming the project.
Fans have wasted no time in airing their thoughts over the latest film in the franchise.
Despite the runaway success of the iconic 1984 original, many cited Gremlins 2: The Bad Batch as the main reason the project shouldn’t come to light.
Responding to the news, TheGermanicist wrote on X: ‘Why? Gremlins 2 was terrible.’
ElCinefago added: ‘Two reflections: Fans asking for Joe Dante to come back. If he makes something in the style of Gremlins 2, you’d tear him to shreds. Gremlins 2, if released nowadays, would be hammered. It already was back then.’
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It’s difficult to understand how anyone could consider themselves a ‘fan’ of Gremlins and yet consider Gremlins 2 ‘terrible’, given it’s one of the most imaginative sequels of all time.
It not only mocks the entire premise of Gremlins (the conversation about eating while traversing international date lines is amazing) but of sequels themselves, consumerism in general, and the unchecked power of corporations (including John Glover as an obvious Donald Trump stand-in, back before people knew what he was really like).
All of that is combined with some amazing practical effects and endless sight gags (the chocolate mousse one alone is worth the price of entry). That’s all thanks to director Joe Dante being given free rein, since film execs correctly realised that he was the reason the first film was so successful.
Alas, he’s 78 now, and essentially retired, so it’s obvious why Chris Columbus seemed like the next best option, since he wrote the original script, but his directorial work in the last 20 years or more has been so bland and conventional it’s impossible to imagine Gremlins 3 being anything other than a weak-blooded rerun of the original.
RDanaReid1 said it was ‘one of the worst movies they spent money to see in a theatre’, while Chris Noeth posted: ‘Gremlins 2 was one of the biggest disappointments in cinema right after Highlander 2. What a big joke. Hope they go back to the “magic” of the first one and with Chris Columbus there is a chance they will… if they have learned something from part 2.’
Others, however, lauded it as a ‘masterpiece’ and a ‘cult classic’, citing its over-the-top comedy and meaner streak as opposed to the much more family-friendly first film.
Released in 1990, Gremlins 2 saw Joe Dante return to the directing chair alongside Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates reprising their roles from the first film.
It follows the events of the first film and sees mogwai Gizmo spawn more of its kind that eventually become warped monsters wreaking havoc in a New York skyscraper.
Gremlins 2 heavily parodies the first film, leaning into its bizarre comedy stylings and gaining a cult following over the decades.
The film holds a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as opposed to Gremlins’ certified fresh 87% score.
Announcing Gremlins 3, Warner Bros. Pictures president of development and production, Jesse Ehrman, said in a statement: ‘Few titles are as beloved and iconic as Gremlins, and we’re beyond excited to bring it back for both lifelong fans and a whole new generation.
‘It’s a privilege to be working alongside Steven [Spielberg], Chris [Columbus], and the entire creative team, and we look forward to audiences experiencing the next installment of the magic, mayhem, and heart of Gremlins on the big screen in 2027.’
Gremlins 3 is set to be released on November 19, 2027.
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