Steven Spielberg and David Zaslav Are Going To Give Us ‘Gremlins 3'

I’m a big fan of Gremlins 2. I love the first one, of course, but I think I’ve seen the second one more often. It’s my go-to “middle of Thanksgiving Day” watch, and I love how absurd it is. It also rules that director Joe Dante had no interest in a sequel and would only return if he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. So, he made the sequel into a spoof of B-movies, and it’s wonderfully ludicrous. But where did the Gremlins go?

That was a question asked by Comedian and musician Nick Lutsko. We have seen more Gremlins recently, with an animated series releasing its second season on HBO Max earlier this year, but Lutsko’s song, Where Did the Gremlins Go?, laments the fact that the Mogwai never received a full-on franchise like they deserve. Instead of Gremlins 3, we got all kinds of terrible stuff. It’s one of my favorite things he’s ever done.

Lutsko would go on to make his own version of Gremlins 3, subtitled Dawn of Desmond. He was doing the Lord’s work, and now, David Zaslav and Steven Spielberg are ripping him off! Okay, not really. Lutsko doesn’t own the rights to Gremlins (just the soul). The ability to make new, “official” entries in the Gremlins franchise belongs to the folks at Warner Brothers, but hey, at least they’re finally making another movie!

David Zaslav revealed on an investor call this morning that Gremlins 3 has been added to Warner Bros.’ release schedule for November 19th, 2027. Steven Spielberg will executive produce the film, and it will be directed by Chris Columbus. The latter’s involvement is the most surprising aspect of this news. While he’s never been super interested in making another sequel, I always thought Joe Dante would return if given the chance, but that’s just me being hopeful.

What matters is that we’re getting a sequel, and that the Mogwai will be practical, not CGI. Please, for the love of Zod, don’t let them be CGI. I’m begging you, Daddy Zaz, Mr. Columbus, and His Eminence Steven Spielberg, start making those puppets now. The practicality is like 95% of the reason the original movies work. Don’t be tempted to stray!