‘Gremlins 3’ Announced As ‘In Development’ At Warner Bros.

Decades after being unleashed upon the world to commit monstrous and mechanical mayhem, Gremlins may be returning to theaters for a third outing, Collider reports.

Written by Chris Columbus before the start of his directing career, directed by Joe Dante, and produced by Steven Spielberg through Amblin Entertainment, the first film was released in 1984 to great critical and box office success, grossing $212 million on an $11 million budget. A sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, arrived in 1990 to financial disappointment but has since become a cult classic. The franchise has even spawned an animated prequel series, airing on Max since 2023. Now, a third film is listed as in development at Warner Bros., per Deadline.

The story of Gremlins follows a teenage boy named Billy, played by Zach Galligan, who receives a strange Christmas gift his father found in an antique store: a cute furry little creature called a Mogwai. Quickly bonding with the creature, Billy names him Gizmo but is strictly warned to follow three rules involving Gizmo’s care: don’t expose him to bright light, don’t feed him after midnight, and never get him wet.

Unsurprisingly, those rules are soon broken, and chaos is unleashed upon Billy’s hometown of Kingston Falls as more Mogwai are created and transformed into the titular green creatures.

Columbus, who drew inspiration for the idea from strange sounds heard in his loft at night, mentioned in an earlier interview that he has been working on a script for a third entry for some time. He said, “I wrote a script, so there is an existing script. We’re working out some rights issues right now, so we’re just trying to figure out when the best time to make that film would be.”

A release date for the third film has not yet been announced.