Fans of Gremlins are in luck because there’s been some movement on the new movie front.
A Gremlins animated series has been in the works for a while now, but fans would really like to see a new movie since there hasn’t been one since 1989. The last we heard Gremlins creator Chris Columbus had written a script and was anxious to get a new movie off the ground.
“I would love to do it,” Columbus said to Collider. “I wrote a script, so there is an existing script. We’re working out some rights issues right now, so we’re just trying to figure out when the best time to make that film would be. I would still do it the same way — I would do it as tangible puppets, not CGI. 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.”
When asked about the sequel more recently, Columbus said it was a work in progress.
“I can only say we’re working on it. We’re working toward that goal, but we haven’t gotten there yet,” Columbus said.
The star of the original movie, Zach Galligan, is also eager to return to the franchise.
“Much, much more interested, because one of the things about doing the Gremlins movies is you would watch, even the difference between 1983 and 1989, effects, technology-wise was really a quantum leap,” Galligan said. “One of the reasons was that Chris Walas, who did a fantastic job in the first movie, he really didn’t have a whole lot of technology to work with. In fairness to him, he would admit, it was his first major gig. So he was under a lot of pressure and he didn’t have as much experience as, probably in retrospect, he would have liked to have had.”
Galligan said the time between the movies made a huge difference in the way the movie looked.
“Then, flash-forward to 1989, six years of technological growth, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it can in technology, the six years can be gargantuan, and the technology was a lot better. And, obviously, we hired Rick Baker, who’s the greatest special effects guy of all time, with seven Oscars and 12 nominations to show for it. They tell you the effects on that, given the technology of the time, were absolutely jaw-dropping.”
We’ll be sure to share any more Gremlins 3 details as soon as we have them.