Stash away the bright lights, water, and midnight snacks, because another installment of Gremlins is potentially on its way to audiences. No, this isn't a reboot or Zach Galligan finally seeing success in his effort to campaign for Gremlins 3, but something new and unexpected. WarnerMedia is looking to make a splash with its upcoming streaming service, and word is a Gremlins animated prequel series may be in development for its platform.
As far as what it's about, this possible Gremlins series is said to take place long before the young Billy Peltzer first laid eyes on a Mogwai. Instead, Variety reported this story will focus on the Chinatown antique store owner Mr. Wing in his younger days, following his adventures with the cuddly Mogwai Gizmo. Man, Gizmo and Mr. Wing had a history? That really makes his grandson look like a real jerk for selling him to Billy's father behind his back.
The potential series will be written and executive produced by Tze Chun, who has worked as a writer and story editor on Gotham and Once Upon A Time. The project is also said to be produced by Warner Bros. Television and Amblin Television, which makes sense considering they were both involved in the production of the Gremlins films.
The WarnerMedia streaming service is expected to arrive in 2019, but THR reports that original content such as this probably won't arrive until 2020 at the earliest. While the news has not officially been confirmed by Warner, the news that a Gremlins animated project is in development wouldn't be all that surprising. Turner chief creative officer and direct-to-consumer Kevin Reilly said during TCA that WarnerMedia would be tapping in-house properties for original content, and Gremlins is an in-house property.
Gremlins wouldn't be the first revived series to jump into animation in the modern era, as the Voltron, She-Ra, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchises have all done so in recent years to varying degrees of success. It's hard to say if a cartoon about the franchise will be a selling point for subscriptions, but it may drum up enough interest in the franchise to get something bigger to happen down the line.
That "something big" being something like Gremlins 3, which always seems to pop up in the news out of nowhere. Perhaps this potential series will be a proving ground for the Gremlins franchise, and test to see if the want is high enough to bring another film to the big screen. It's even possible one could arrive on WarnerMedia's streaming service, as streaming services are slowly but surely getting higher profile films all the time.
CinemaBlend will keep an ear to the ground regarding updates on the potential Gremlins animated prequel project, as well as what's happening with other in-development projects. For a look at what's happening on television now and in the coming weeks, head on over to our midseason premiere guide.
