The last movie about Gremlins, our favorite little monsters, arrived about 30 years ago. We have waited ever since, but never got another one of them. What went wrong? Well, apparently Chris Columbus (who was the creator of original Gremlins characters) wasn’t happy with Gremlins 2 and hence, turned his back to the franchise. However, he is back now with the reboot. Columbus confirmed that the script for the new movie is finished, and it is going to be quite “dark.” We take his word for that, especially when there are rumors regarding killing off the adorable Mogwai Gizmo.
Chris Columbus, while promoting his new production Patti Cakes, was in talks with Slash Film. When asked about Gremlins 3, Columbus confirmed that the script was finished, but the usual budgetary constraints are getting solved now. In his own words:
“I’m really proud of the script. It is as twisted and dark as anything, so we’ll see. It’s always a budgetary conversation when we’re going to shoot it. I wanted to go back to the really twisted sensibility of the first movie. I found that was a very easy place for me to fall back into and start writing again so hopefully we’ll see that movie soon.”
While Gremlin movies were known for its twisted, dark elements, Gremlins 2 went off the rails with the “darkness.” The common theme in both the movies was the lovable Gizmo, who was actually responsible for creating the green monsters and killing so many people. So why don’t we simply kill off the root of evil? Perhaps we don’t because he is cute. But it looks like Gremlins 3 might do this if we believe Chris Columbus:
“Very good observation. That comes up in the movie, certainly. I think it probably is a good idea to be honest with you. Too many people are dying.”
No matter how you look at it, Gizmo is the central character of the Gremlins franchise. It would be like killing off Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. But then again, Gizmo is the main antagonist of the franchise, and such evil dies in the movies more often than not.
Chris Columbus shared more of his plans regarding Gizmo. According to him, CGI would play a minimal role in the new film, only to aid the puppeteers. He wants to adopt the practical approach as much as possible:
“Oh, without a doubt, minimal CGI. 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.”
It must be noted that the Gremlins franchise is currently owned by Warner Bros. Actor Zach Galligan said in an interview last year that he would love to be a part of the movie again. While it seems a little late for that, given that Columbus has finished the script, but there is still hope. If Gremlins 3 succeeds in fascinating the audience, we would surely be seeing a lot more of Gremlins soon.
