Gremlins is getting animated with the upcoming series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. Bringing back Gizmo for an all-new story set in the Gremlins universe, the animated series will premiere on HBO Max in 2022. Recently, the streamer released a preview video hyping all of the titles coming to the streaming service next year. You can watch the preview video below with the first look at Gizmo popping up at about the 1:18 minute mark.
A prequel series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is set long before the events of the original 1984 film. It follows 10-year-old Sam Wing, telling the story of how the boy met Gizmo. According to the synopsis, Sam, Gizmo, and a teenage street thief named Elle “take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Tze Chun developed the animated series for HBO Max, serving as showrunner and writer. It features the voice talents of Izaac Wang (Sam Wing), Ming-Na Wen (Fong Wing), B. D. Wong (Hon Wing), James Hong (Grandpa Wing), Matthew Rhys (Riley Greene), and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green (Elle). Howie Mandel does not provide the voice of Gizmo as A. J. Locascio takes over the role for Secrets of the Mogwai.
Chun also serves as a co-executive producer with Brendan Hay on the series. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television are executive producing alongside Sam Reigster; the team previously collaborated on Animaniacs. Dan Krall is serving as a supervising producer. Amblin is producing in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
Joe Dante directed the original Gremlins using a script by Chris Columbus. The film was an instant hit, striking big with audiences who enjoyed seeing aggressive monsters terrorizing a small town on Christmas Eve. This brought about the sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, with Dante back to direct using a new script by Charles S. Haas. The sequel was much more comedic than the original, and while it bombed at the box office, it has develped a cult following.
Whether or not we see an actual Gremlins 3 remains to be seen. There have been rumors for years of a new film happening, but it just can’t seem to make its way out of development hell. Perhaps those waters can first be tested by bringing back Gizmo with an animated series before fully committing to another all-new Gremlins movie. For the fans of the original films, Mountain Dew reunited the live-action Gizmo with original Gremlins star Zach Galligan for a pretty amazing commercial earlier this year.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will premiere on HBO Max sometime in 2022 with an official release date yet to be announced. As seen in the preview trailer, some of the other anticipated titles coming to the streamer next year include the Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, and Elizabeth Olsen’s new series Love & Death, along with new seasons of hit shows like Euphoria, Westworld, Barry, and The Flight Attendant.
