Gremlins 3 Happening?
While discussing his latest Christmas film, writer-director Chris Columbus gave an update on a possible Gremlins 3.
This article is more than 2 years old
It’s been a little while since we’ve heard any news on the status of a third Gremlins movie, but Chris Columbus, the writer of the original Gremlins, recently gave fans an update on where Gremlins 3 stands while he was promoting his new Netflix movie, The Christmas Chronicles 2.
“I would love to do it. 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.” With technology advancing in leaps and bounds since the days of the original Gremlins, it wouldn’t be shocking to have Columbus and company go CGI-heavy. Thankfully, Columbus doesn’t see it that way. “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,” he told Collider Connected. Columbus leaning toward the puppetry of Gremlins is music to our ears.
Chris Columbus discussed his Gremlins 3 script years ago when answering the question, “If Gizmo is the one who brings the gremlins to life when he gets wet or when fed after midnight, why not just eliminate Gizmo?” To Columbus it’s a “very good observation,” he told Slash Film. “That comes up in the movie, certainly.” “I think it probably is a good idea to be honest with you,” Columbus said. “Too many people are dying.”
But the conversation, even back then, turned to CGI and just how much he would plan on using in Gremlins 3, “Oh, without a doubt, minimal CGI,” Columbus said. “CGI will enable us to remove wires and make the puppeteers’ lives a little easier. It was brutal. It was like a marathon every night for those guys. In the bar scene alone there were 18 [or] 20 people behind the bar. No one had any space to move. It was just hellish for those guys so CGI will simplify that a little bit but it’s all puppets.”
But if the movie is a go, who is returning to the franchise? Zach Galligan has already made it well known that he is on board for Gremlins 3. Sadly, a few of the actors from the original have passed, like Hoyt Axton, Dick Miller, but there are others who could see some screen time. Judge Reinhold and Corey Feldman are two who could see a return, but the big question would be if Phoebe Cates would reprise her role as Kate Beringer.
With all this talk of sequels and Gremlins 3, Chris Columbus also discussed what he feels about Disney’s announcement of a Home Alone reboot. Columbus, who directed both Home Alone and its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, spoke on The Christmas Chronicles 2 press circuit and was less than thrilled with the thought of a reboot, “Nobody got in touch with me about it, and it’s a waste of time as far as I’m concerned. What’s the point? I’m a firm believer that you don’t remake films that have had the longevity of Home Alone. You’re not going to create lightning in a bottle again. It’s just not going to happen. So why do it? It’s like doing a paint-by-numbers version of a Disney animated film — a live-action version of that. What’s the point? It’s been done. Do your own thing. Even if you fail miserably, at least you have come up with something original.”
For now, Columbus is focusing on trying to get Gremlins 3 off the ground. As of right now, the closest thing we are getting is the animated prequel TV series that Warner Bros. is taking to HBO Max. Sorry, but we want the puppet Gizmo instead.
