Gremlins Reboot Brings Back Original Star

Gremlins is going to be rebooted in a sense, starting with a new prequel series. This new series is also brining in one of the actors from the first film.

By James Brizuela | Published

Gremlins

There has been plenty of great news coming from the halls of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. The usual bevy of announcements that take up most of the attention comes from the Marvel side of things. However, fans of the Gremlins franchise got some fantastic news as well. The new spin-off series that takes the story to the origins of the beloved creates from the 1980s hit film is bringing back one of its original stars. Zach Galligan, otherwise known as Billy, will be guest starring in the new Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai prequel series.

This is some great news, as it means the Gremlins franchise could be heading in the right direction. There had been rumors that the franchise was going to see how the new series was received before committing to the long-standing third sequel film. With Billy returning, it could mean the new prequel series is going to do its best to bridge the gap between Gremlins 2 and the new film. However, considering the new series takes place in 1920 China, that might sound a bit odd plot-wise. Our theory is that the origin story of Gizmo being brought over to America is going to be told in Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai series. This could lead into the events of the first film and go past that a bit too.

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai follows Sam Wing, as he meets Gizmo. He must then traverse through the countryside to attempt to reunite Gizmo with his family while they encounter creatures of folklore, and a growing army of evil Gremlins. Sam is going to be joined by Elle (Gabrielle Green) on their adventures. James Hong, BD Wong, and Ming-Na Wen had already been cast, and they are set to portray the family of Sam Wing. Also, Matthew Rhys was one of the first slates of the cast added. They are now joined by a legacy character, Billy. That is not all the cast, as it was announced during the panel at SDCC that Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang would also be lending their voices to the new series.

If Sam Wing is the shopkeeper from the first film (they share the same last name), then we might be seeing how this shopkeeper either kept or saved Gizmo from a terrible fate by bringing him over to America. This would then kick off the events of the first Gremlins film. If that is what happens, then the spin-off series might also go past the second film to usher in the new sequel film. At least, that is how we see it playing out. We are not entirely sure how Zach Galligan will be brought in for the plot to make sense. He could just be voicing another random character in the Gremlins reboot that we don’t know about.

Gremlins is one film franchise that has been in the reboot conversation for some time, and this new prequel series might just be the start of that. Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai might be more centered around family content, as it is being shown on both HBO Max and Cartoon Network, but based on the attention it gets, we could see the franchise rebound with a third film.