New ‘Gremlins’ Movie In the Works With Chris Columbus Returning

The 1984 black comedy horror Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins II: The New Batch are two of the most celebrated horror comedies of the last century. With Steven Spielberg in creative control of the franchise, Warner Bros. wanted to continue the franchise through additional films ever since the release of Gremlins II. Three decades would then pass without a breakthrough until this year, when it was announced that a new Gremlins movie was finally in official development. So let's take a deep dive into this beloved franchise and how the attempts by Warner and Amblin to create a new Gremlins film continued to flounder until 2025. Finally, we have big news regarding a new Gremlins movie.

The idea behind Gremlins was reportedly inspired by mischievous creatures of folklore that were purported to cause aircraft malfunctions in World War 2. In Gremlins (1984), a young Billy Peltzer receives a small exotic creature (known as a mogwai) as a Christmas gift from his father, with three very clear instructions attached: don't expose them to the sun, keep them away from water, and never feed them after midnight. Naming this creature Gizmo, Billy accidentally unleashes a horde of malevolent, mischievous creatures known as Gremlins on his small town when he inadvertently breaks the three rules.

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In Gremlins II (1990), the mogwai Gizmo is kidnapped for experiments by some mad scientists, and Billy Peltzer must step forward to rescue the creature from his misery. However, amidst the chaos, Gizmo manages to spawn more of his kind that eventually become imp-like monsters. The gremlins then proceed to wreak havoc within a skyscraper in New York City. While 1984’s Gremlins was an astounding box office success (earning more than $200 million on a budget of $11 million), the sequel turned out to be both a critical and commercial disappointment.

While some pointed to the film’s unconventional segments of animation starring Looney Tunes characters as off-putting for audiences, others rightly said that Gremlins II sought to satirize sequels (that had become one too many in the 80s) with questionable effectiveness. With Gremlins II failing to make its budget back in theatres, any immediate thought of a Gremlins III was put on ice.

New ‘Gremlins’ Movie

However, the franchise continued to rake in money for both Warners and Amblin through home media sales and licensing, even though no future parts were planned. This, coupled with the fact that many franchises from the 80s and 90s were successfully resurrected through well-made sequels at the turn of the century, led the studios to dive into the Gremlins franchise once more.

However, the important question was whether to reboot the franchise for 21st-century audiences or proceed with a direct sequel to the first two films. For a brief time, the reboot idea seemed to be getting more traction. In 2010, Gremlins and Gremlins II director Joe Dante was asked by IGN if he would choose to return to the franchise. Dante not only flatly refused but stated that he was more than happy to let someone else take a shot at the franchise, given that he had already deconstructed the first film in the sequel and did not know where else to take the story from there.

It was in January 2013 that Vulture announced that a Gremlins reboot was finally happening with Warner and Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment in final talks to proceed. Producer Seth Grahame Smith was on board both as writer and producer as well but the project unfortunately fizzled out in the next two years. Smith would go on record to say that both Columbus and Spielberg were busy, so the team was waiting for both of them to proceed. In addition, original Gremlins and Gremlins II director Joe Dante had thrown everyone a curveball earlier in 2014, stating that he would not be involved in the new film in any capacity.