GREMLINS 3 - November 2027 - Spielberg to Produce, Chris Columbus to Direct

[AndyDursin]

Please...make it stop...

“Gremlins” lead actor Zach Galligan recently said during an appearance at Comic Con Manchester (via Games Radar) that Warner Bros. is “incredibly interested” in “Gremlins 3.” Not only that, but the script is allegedly on the desk of executive producer Steven Spielberg and awaiting his sign-off. Galligan played the lead role of Billy Peltzer in 1984’s “Gremlins” and 1990’s “Gremlins 2: The New Batch.”

“After 35 years, they’ve come up with a script,” Galligan told the audience. “Warner Bros. is incredibly interested in doing it, apparently it’s waiting on Mr. Spielberg to read it and approve it. But you can thank the success of ‘Beetlejiuce Beetlejuice.'”

Variety has reached out to Warner Bros. for further comment.

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/grem ... 236473690/

[TaranofPrydain]

Yet another unnecessary sequel..... Gremlins 2 in 1990 was a bliss-out, far better than #1, but that was 35 years ago, a time when blockbusters, even sequels, felt more organic than now, where everything is so dull.

[Paul MacLean]

Will Spielberg allow Joe Dante to direct?

[Monterey Jack]

I blame the massive success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for this.

[AndyDursin]

Will Spielberg allow Joe Dante to direct?

Spielberg might but Warner probably wouldn't, he's almost 80 and hasn't directed a studio movie since LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION (over 22 years ago now!). And only two small indie horror films after that. He has tried making other movies since then though (to no avail).

The list of unproduced Dante projects is vast. One of my favorite stories of his was THE PHANTOM, which he developed with Jeffrey Boam writing. They eventually left the movie, and years later Simon Wincer came in, apparently unaware it was supposed to be funny. The film got made with Boam's script -- but with all the humor removed -- which is why it feels so "weird" for lack of a better term. Like it's a spoof that doesn't know that it is one!

[Monterey Jack]

Spielberg might but Warner probably wouldn't, he's almost 80 and hasn't directed a studio movie since LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION (over 22 years ago now!). And only two small indie horror films after that. He has tried making other movies since then though (to no avail).

Tim Burton's 66, and when WB allowed him to go "old-school" on his Beetlejuice sequel (cramming it with puppetry, stop-motion and practical makeup effects, only resorting to CGI whenever absolutely necessary), it resulted in a sizable box office hit. Granted, Dante's been "out of the game" a lot longer, and his last handful of studio pictures (Matinee, Small Soldiers, Looney Tunes) all tanked, but you'd think, if studios were going to continue strip-mining the genre cinema of the 1980s apparently forever, they'd want the originators of said franchises to be involved. Yeah, Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull was heavily flawed, but we all saw how much worse the next Indiana Jones movie was sans the spry camerawork of Steven Spielberg. The last thing we need are CGI Gremlins scuttering around who refuse to acknowledge gender pronouns.

[AndyDursin]

That's the thing, Burton may be 66 but his career has never stopped. Dante is basically retired and it's been decades since he directed an actual studio picture...and really nothing good since MATINEE. And that was over 30 years ago now.

[Eric W.]

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/grem ... 236571272/

Happening apparently and probably unfortunately.

[AndyDursin]

Guess Zach Galligan wasn't lying back in July!

Between this and THE MUMMY looks like it's revival week. Too bad for theaters it'll be YEARS before these come out.

You're right Eric, it may be a dud -- but as much as I originally was like "please don't", I have a better feel about reviving something like this because it's Spielberg and, more over, Chris Columbus making it, and not JJ Abrams or one of his hacks.

I know, no Joe Dante, but as we mentioned in the other thread, he hasn't made a viable movie in nearly 30 years, and as much as I loved GREMLINS 2, it was too cartoony a response to the first film for a lot of people.

[Paul MacLean]

You're right Eric, it may be a dud -- but as much as I originally was like "please don't", I have a better feel about reviving something like this because it's Spielberg and, more over, Chris Columbus making it, and not JJ Abrams or one of his hacks.

John Williams should score this instead of the UFO movie!

[AndyDursin]

I was about to say, I think they will miss Jerry more than Joe Dante.

Here's an article on the FINAL DESTINATION guys writing this with Columbus, apparently based on a script he wrote nearly a decade ago for it:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 236371957/

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein are learning why you don’t get a Mogwai wet.

The directing duo behind this summer’s horror hit Final Destination: Bloodlines have teamed up with Chris Columbus to write the new feature installment of Gremlins, Warner Bros.’ horror comedy franchise featuring little mischievous monsters, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The development occurs as the feature project moves full steam ahead at Warners, with the studio announcing Thursday on an earnings call that it is dating the movie for Nov. 19, 2027.

Kristie Macosko Krieger and Holly Bario of Amblin Entertainment are producing the project, as are Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe via their banner, 26th Street Pictures. Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce.

Lipovsky and Stein are working with Columbus as a writing team. Columbus wrote the 1984 original (but sat out the 1990 sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch) and is slated to direct this new installment. A script by Columbus has been in development since at least 2017 — Toby Halbrooks and Carl Ellsworth wrote previous drafts — and the boarding of Lipovsky and Stein, who are very much in demand around Hollywood thanks to Bloodlines, is an electric charge for the project.

In talking about his to return to Gremlins, Columbus said to The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m filled with a tremendous surge of inspiration and passion, as I embark on this cinematic journey. It’s an honor to reunite with Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros., as we bring this latest chapter of Gremlins to a brand new generation of moviegoers who will experience all of the thrills of this grand adventure on the big screen”

“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,” said Jesse Ehrman, Warners’ president of development and production. “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 magic, mayhem, and heart of Gremlins on the big screen in 2027.”

With Bloodlines, Lipovsky and Stein reinvigorated a moribund Warners title, helming the first Final Destination movie in about 14 years. The movie, released in May, grossed $315.0 million worldwide on a budget of around $50 million, becoming not only the highest-grossing entry in the franchise but also the best-reviewed. The duo are known for their directing work, but the opportunity to work as writers on a movie series that was a childhood favorite to them both, and to work with Columbus, who also wrote 1980s classic The Goonies and directed Home Alone, was too good to pass up. Lipovsky and Stein have yet to pick their next directorial outing but are being heavily courted by studios.

The original Gremlins, directed by Joe Dante, told of a young man who receives a unique cute and furry creature as a present from his father and who names it Gizmo. The pet comes with three rules: keep it away from light, don’t let it come in contact with water, and don’t feed it after midnight. Of course, all those rules are broken and soon, all hell breaks loose in the hero’s small town, as not only new Mogwais appear, led by the nasty-tempered Stripe, but they then turn into reptilian killers as well.

The movie was released the same weekend as Ghostbusters, with both becoming hits and making their mark on 1980s pop culture. Dante came back for the sequel, but Columbus did not.

The franchise and IP went into a cocoon for decades, but talk of an eventual third movie would pop up intermittently. In 2023, HBO Max released the animated series Gremlins: The Wild Batch. Dante was involved with the series and, last year, as the second season launched, he commented on the prospects of a third movie.

“That’s up to the audience,” he told THR about the chances of a third film. “The fact is that it’s too big a property for somebody not to make something. But it’s been difficult for people to wrap their heads around, ‘Exactly how are we going to do this?’”

[AndyDursin]

Addams Family revival? Check
Beetljuice revival? Check
Scream revival? Check

One more to add on apparently.

[Monterey Jack]

Jenna's becoming the female Chris Pratt...nothin' but IPs.

[AndyDursin]

Yeah you said it

[AndyDursin]

Or maybe not??