Grab your Mogwai and don’t feed it after midnight, because Gremlins 3 is officially happening. After years of false starts and rumors, Warner Bros. has locked in November 19, 2027, as the release date for the long-awaited sequel. The news dropped during Warner Bros. Discovery’s investor call, with CEO David Zaslav casually confirming what fans have been hoping for since the ’90s.
Yes, Chris Columbus, who wrote the original Gremlins back in 1984 before becoming a blockbuster staple with Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and the first two Harry Potter films, is returning to direct. And while Joe Dante, the 84-year-old mastermind behind Gremlins 2: The New Batch, isn’t really involved, Steven Spielberg is back as executive producer through Amblin Entertainment. The godfather of the franchise still has his claws deep in this one.
Columbus first teased a third Gremlins back in 2017, describing it as a direct sequel and not a reboot. At the time, he worked on a script with Disturbia writer Carl Ellsworth, reportedly exploring the moral question of whether Gizmo should be put down for being the accidental cause of so much destruction. That’s… surprisingly deep for a movie about adorable furballs that turn into gremlins when wet.
And here’s the part that’ll make practical effects fans cheer: Columbus confirmed the gremlins will be puppets again. No CGI. Just pure, chaotic animatronic mayhem like the old days. Somewhere out there, a special effects team just started sweating.
The first Gremlins movie, released in June 1984, was a pop-culture juggernaut—part Christmas comedy, part horror flick. Then Dante went full meta with 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch, turning it into a live-action cartoon that mocked sequels, corporate greed, and itself. For years, fans begged Warner Bros. for another chapter. Columbus kept the idea alive, Spielberg stayed protective, and actor Zach Galligan, the original Billy Peltzer, kept popping up at conventions saying it might finally happen. At Comic-Con Manchester in July, Galligan told fans, “After 35 years, they’ve come up with a script,” adding that Warner Bros. was waiting on Spielberg’s approval. Well, it seems the wait is over.
Warner Bros. has been leaning hard into legacy sequels lately. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice crushed the box office earlier this year, and a Practical Magic sequel is already in production. According to Zaslav, Warner Bros. is “leading the 2025 box office domestically, internationally, and globally,” having already crossed $4 billion in ticket sales this year.
So, after decades of teases, rewrites, and studio hesitation, Gremlins 3 is finally real. Spielberg’s blessing sealed it. Columbus is steering the ship. And come 2027, Gizmo’s going to remind us all why you never underestimate a Mogwai.
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