Warner Bros. CEOs Confirm New Gremlins Film in the Works

When you think of a film that has taken years to be released, you often have one of two reactions. 1) The film is going to be horrible, or 2) Finally! Avatar: The Way of the Water was announced by director James Cameron in 2010. After being delayed eight times, it was finally released in 2022 to widespread acclaim. Borderlands, on the other hand, entered development in 2015. After going through multiple writers, directors, and reshoots, it was finally released in 2024 and bombed spectacularly.

When Gremlins was released in 1984, the bizarre Christmas movie featuring a cute, cuddly creature named Gizmo battling Snow White-loving ‘gremlins’ became a hit. Following the 1990 sequel, plans were made for a third entry. Three decades later, Warner Bros. may finally be ready to bring it to the screen.

Gremlins & Goonies Franchises Are Both Getting New Movies

In an interview with Deadline, CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy discussed the films they’re excited to see being developed. Sequels to blockbusters like A Minecraft Movie and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice seem like a no-brainer, but hearing about plans for Gremlins was a pleasant surprise.

“We’re super excited about Amblin developing with Chris Columbus new entries in the Gremlins and Goonies franchises,” Abdy said. This is more concrete information on Gremlin’s future than we’ve had in decades.

Gremlins‘ creator and writer, Chris Columbus, has discussed his desire to make the film for years, even citing a script he wrote years ago. “It is as twisted and dark as anything, so we’ll see,” he told Slash Film in 2017. I wanted to go back to the twisted sensibility of the first movie.”

In 2020, Columbus also shared his thoughts on whether he thinks the creatures would be CGI this time around. “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,” he told Collider.

Producer Steven Spielberg Made a Crucial Change to the Original Script

While few would call Gremlins a kids’ film due to its violence, Columbus’ script was originally much gorier and violent than the end product.

“I think the dad stayed behind and fought the Gremlins, I don’t quite remember if he survived,” he told Vanity Fair. “The mom certainly didn’t. Billy [played by Zach Galligan] ran into the foyer of his house, and his mom’s head came rolling down the stairs. So there were some deaths. And Barney the dog was not so lucky to just be hung up in the Christmas lights. He was actually hung up by his neck and died. We killed the dog! They ate him!”

One of the biggest changes Steven Spielberg made was keeping Gizmo as the soft, cuddly, adorable sidekick throughout the film. “That was one of Steven’s best ideas—that Gizmo remained by Billy’s side,” he said. “The audience needed someone to relate to in terms of the gremlins, and that was Gizmo.”