Yes, ‘Gremlins 3’ Is Finally Happening
Let’s call it the new “New Batch”! Gizmo, and no doubt his rambunctious pals, are coming back in a new Gremlins installment to test the competency of people fairly warned again and again not to feed them after midnight.
They aren’t the only ones returning either. Per The Hollywood Reporter, producer Steven Spielberg and writer Chris Columbus are back to resume their positions in the hierarchy. Unfortunately, Joe Dante, director of the first two films many moons ago, will be sitting this one out.
Columbus is taking over directing duties while also loosening his grip on the screenplay. Final Destination: Bloodlines filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein are pitching in to tighten up the script.
It’s been 40 years since the first Gremlins became a sleeper hit at the box office that left quite the legacy. The PG-13 rating was created for it so the picture could keep its monster gore and remain suitable for a younger, family-oriented target audience. The gamble paid off as the film is still a favorite for many households around Christmas time.
The second film Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which is almost as old as its predecessor at this point, had a tougher time catching on. It didn’t make nearly the same amount of money and was misunderstood for ages because of its straight-up, meta satirical approach.
Quentin Tarantino, who is always a sucker for the lost toys of cinema nobody wants, is a fan, though. Comparing New Batch to a MAD Magazine splash page, he once said, “With Gremlins 2, [Dante] was able to do a MAD Magazine take-off on the first Gremlins for the entire movie.”
Tarantino continued, “They actually start goofing on every aspect of Christopher Columbus’ original premise… and it was hysterical… it actually gets better every time you see it. It’s the first of those gag-like movies to 100 percent work from beginning to end since Airplane!”
It will be a while before we see if Gremlins 3 lives up to expectations. The film won’t be out until at least 2027. Until then, HBO Max has The Secrets of the Mogwai to tide fans over.
NEXT: ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Review – Death Runs In The Family, And So Do Average Sequels
