There are three important rules when dealing with a Mogwai.

1. Keep it away from bright light.
2. Never get it wet.
3. Never feed it after midnight.

Apparently there should have been a fourth one. Do not expect Gremlins 3 to arrive on its original release date. Warner Bros. has delayed the long-awaited third Gremlins movie from 19 November 2027 to 6 October 2028. That is disappointing for anyone already waiting more than three decades for another theatrical Gremlins movie, but the project itself remains very real. And several of the people who helped create the original are back.

 

Chris Columbus returns to Gremlins

Chris Columbus wrote the screenplay for Joe Dante’s original Gremlins in 1984. For the third film, he is returning as both director and producer. Steven Spielberg, whose Amblin Entertainment produced the original film, is returning as executive producer.

Hannah Marks is writing the current screenplay from an earlier draft by Columbus, Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein. That makes this far more interesting than a studio simply attaching the Gremlins name to an unrelated new project.

Gizmo has already appeared

Warner Bros. has also provided a tiny first tease of the movie. Promotional material accompanying the new date showed Gizmo hidden inside a blue backpack, offering the first official glimpse connected to the production. Beyond that, Warner has kept the story remarkably quiet.

No plot has been announced. No cast has been confirmed. We therefore do not know whether familiar human characters will return or exactly what circumstances bring Gizmo and the Gremlins back.

Thirty-eight years after The New Batch

The strange thing about Gremlins 3 is just how much time will have passed. Gremlins 2: The New Batch arrived in 1990.

If the new release date holds, the third theatrical film will reach audiences in 2028. That is a 38-year gap.

The franchise has not disappeared completely during that period. There have been games, merchandise and the animated prequel series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai and Gremlins: The Wild Batch. But for cinema audiences, this is a return to a story that has been dormant since VHS tapes were still cutting-edge home entertainment.

The first movie helped change film ratings

There is another piece of history that makes the return particularly appropriate. The original Gremlins, alongside Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, became part of the discussion that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating in 1984.

Gremlins looked like a family-friendly creature movie until those creatures started doing considerably less family-friendly things. Its combination of comedy, Christmas movie, monster film and horror has always made it difficult to categorise neatly. That remains its charm.

 

Not a remake

Most importantly, the current project is not being described as a remake of the 1984 film. It is the next instalment. Warner Bros. has repeatedly referred to the project as Gremlins 3, with Columbus returning to continue a franchise he helped create. We still need casting, a proper plot synopsis and actual footage before we know what kind of movie Columbus is making. But Gizmo is back. Spielberg is back. Chris Columbus is directing. And unless somebody feeds the release schedule after midnight again, Gremlins 3 will finally reach cinemas on 6 October 2028.