Time and again, Warner Bros. has tried to keep the Gremlins franchise going in the world of cinema, with the ever elusive Gremlins 3 spawning wild ideas, only to constantly stall out ahead before productions could begin. The world of small-screen animation provided the next best thing through the development of the streaming series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. Ahead of the premiere coming later this year, we now have our first look at the prequel series' characters alongside the A+ voice talent that will be voicing them.
Announced as a streaming original for HBO Max subscribers, this new Gremlins series is hitting the current online home to both films that precede it. Previously, we learned that Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai would be focusing on Sam Wing (voiced by Izaac Wang), the young boy who will eventually become the guardian of Gizmo. Now, we’re able to share your first look at Sam and his family, thanks to this official promo image released by the platform:
Joining Izaac Wang for the HBO Max prequel series is a lineup that feels like a dream. Fresh from her return in Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett, Ming-Na Wen will be playing Sam’s mother, Fong, with Jurassic World: Dominion’s B.D. Wong in the role of Hon, Sam’s father. Rounding out the Wing family cast is acting legend James Hong, who recently spoke with us about his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, as the family patriarch Grandpa.
Also making up part of the A+ voice cast for Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is Matthew Rhys, who’s already a part of the HBO family thanks to his role as the lead in Perry Mason. He's playing the industrialist who apparently has an army of Gremlins to command, so it sounds like we’ll be getting a first-hand look at how Sam learned those three infamous rules everyone remembers.
Reviving this saga in any format seems like a step in the right direction, with original stars like Zach Galligan still eager to make that potential Gremlins 3 on the live-action front. Having a prequel series up and running would be a great test to see just where fans want to see the story go next, with the past and the future both presenting intriguing options. Those thoughts will have to go unaddressed for the moment, as we’re still unsure when we’ll be seeing these adventures of the past arriving on HBO Max.
At least the voice cast for Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will be nothing short of epic, as this information is set to feed the curiosity of those who await its arrival. Currently, the show is set to premiere at some point in 2022, both as a streaming original for HBO Max and a title in the ACME Night broadcast line-up for Cartoon Network.
Whenever that date reveals itself, you can bet it will join the rest of the 2022 TV schedule in short order. At the time of this writing, fans can also watch both Gremlins films, as part of HBO’s streaming library.
