'Gremlins' Animated Series To Be Unleashed On WarnerMedia Streaming Service
Don't get them wet. Don't expose them to bright light. Don't feed them after midnight. But do give them an animated series. Yes, that's right: a Gremlins animated series is currently in the works for the WarnerMedia Streaming Service. The series would be a prequel, following Mr. Wing, the old man who was in possession of Gizmo the Mogwai at the start of Gremlins. In the show, a young Mr. Wing will set out on adventures with Gizmo. And one can assume at some point, Gizmo eats chicken after midnight and a bunch of gross gremlins explode out of his back.
Variety broke the news about the Gremlins animated series. Here are the details:
The potential series is said to be a period piece that would follow Mr. Wing, the Chinese grandfather played in the films by Keye Luke, as a young man as he goes on adventures with the friendly Mogwai Gizmo. The series will be produced by Warner Bros. Television and Amblin Television. Both Warner Bros. and Amblin produced the films on which the show will be based.
The animated show would serve as a prequel to the Joe Dante-directed 1984 dark comedy in which monstrous, mischievous gremlins run wild in a small town during Christmas time. Gremlins was followed-up with a satircal sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which people seem to either love or hate. Since then, there have been rumors surrounding both a potential Gremlins 3, or even a Gremlins reboot. Neither have come to pass, which is probably for the best.
Tze Chun, who has credits on Gotham and Once Upon a Time, will write and executive produce the Gremlins animated the series. The show is destined for the WarnerMedia streaming service – because everyone wants their own streaming service these days. We've heard a lot about original programming for Disney+, Disney's upcoming streaming, and Apple's streaming service. But announcements about original programs for the WarnerMedia service have been scarce. Mostly, Warners has talked about how they would probably take shows like Friends off of Netflix and drop it on their new service. One can assume that more original programs will be announced as time goes on.
The big question here is: would a Gremlins prequel series work? Is that something fans even want to see, or would they be happier with a continuation of Gizmo's story following Gremlins 2. This animated series approach also suggests the show will be family friendly, and ignore the dark and often gross tone of the films.