Chris Columbus Says The Completed Script For Gremlins 3 Is “Twisted And Dark”

Back in 2016, Gremlins star Zach Galligan revealed that Chris Columbus – the writer of that original 1984 movie – was hard at work on a script for Gremlins 3. This was somewhat surprising, given that Columbus is known to have been unhappy with the direction in which 1990’s Gremlins 2 took his foundational ideas. It was exciting for the same reason, though – if anyone could bring the Gremlins property back on track, it’s the man who invented it in the first place, right?

For those unfamiliar, Gremlins is the popular horror-comedy, written by Columbus and directed by Joe Dante. It follows the adventures of Billy Peltzer (Galligan), as he gets to grips with a strange and mysterious pet Mogwai named Gizmo that his father acquires for him from an antique store in Chinatown. Billy is told, in no uncertain terms, that there are three rules when it comes to owning a Mogwai: exposure to bright lights will kill it, and it should never be fed, or gotten wet, after midnight. When these rules are accidentally broken, Billy learns the truth. The rules are there to prevent Gizmo from producing mischievous, homicidal Gremlins that will destroy the town.

Now, Chris Columbus himself has provided an update on the Gremlins 3 project to /Film – and that update is that the script is complete and he’s very proud of it.

“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.”

It’s clearly without a greenlight at the current time – much less having a director attached – but Columbus certainly seems sure that Gremlins 3 will become a reality at some point. He’s even able to confirm that practical effects will take centre stage, when it finally rolls into production.

“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.”

One question continues to haunt fans of the original movies, though. If the murderous and destructive Gremlins result from feeding Gizmo after midnight, and getting him wet, shouldn’t concerned parties simply remove Gizmo from the equation by killing him?

“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.”

A movie in which the life of the iconic Gizmo is threatened? That certainly does sound twisted and dark. Exactly when Gremlins 3 will finally see the inside of a movie theatre is still anyone’s guess, though.