Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
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Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/gre...ia-1203146742/
A “Gremlins” animated series is in development at WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.
The potential series is said to be a period piece that would follow Mr. Wing, the Chinese grandfather played in the films by Keye Luke, as a young man as he goes on adventures with the friendly Mogwai Gizmo. The series will be produced by Warner Bros. Television and Amblin Television. Both Warner Bros. and Amblin produced the films on which the show will be based.
Warner Bros. and Amblin declined to comment.
Tze Chun is attached to write and executive produce. He is known for writing and directing films like 2013’s “Cold Comes the Night” starring Bryan Cranston and 2009’s “Children of Invention. Chun’s TV credits include shows like “Gotham” and “Once Upon a Time.” He is also the co-founder of comic book publisher TKO Studios.
Chun is repped by WME and Morris Yorn.
The first “Gremlins” film was released in 1984. Directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, the film was a major box office success. It went on to gross over $153 million worldwide on a reported budget of $11 million. A sequel, “Gremlins 2: The New Batch,” was released in 1990 with Dante returning to direct.
News of the development comes as WarnerMediaprepares to enter the streaming space with its yet-to-be-named streaming platform. Kevin Reilly, the chief creative officer Turner and direct-to-consumer, said at the recent TCA winter press tour that a beta version of the service will not feature original content, with originals expected to begin launching in 2020. He said that WarnerMedia will be looking to mine in-house properties–like “Gremlins”–to generate new content for the service but that not all originals would be based on WarnerMedia IP.
Reilly also hinted that major Warner properties like “Friends” would eventually be pulled from other streaming services like Netflix in favor of having them exclusively on Warner OTT. “You can expect that the crown jewels of Warner will ultimately end up on the new service,” he said, adding that “sharing destination assets like that… (is) not a good model.”
The potential series is said to be a period piece that would follow Mr. Wing, the Chinese grandfather played in the films by Keye Luke, as a young man as he goes on adventures with the friendly Mogwai Gizmo. The series will be produced by Warner Bros. Television and Amblin Television. Both Warner Bros. and Amblin produced the films on which the show will be based.
Warner Bros. and Amblin declined to comment.
Tze Chun is attached to write and executive produce. He is known for writing and directing films like 2013’s “Cold Comes the Night” starring Bryan Cranston and 2009’s “Children of Invention. Chun’s TV credits include shows like “Gotham” and “Once Upon a Time.” He is also the co-founder of comic book publisher TKO Studios.
Chun is repped by WME and Morris Yorn.
The first “Gremlins” film was released in 1984. Directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, the film was a major box office success. It went on to gross over $153 million worldwide on a reported budget of $11 million. A sequel, “Gremlins 2: The New Batch,” was released in 1990 with Dante returning to direct.
News of the development comes as WarnerMediaprepares to enter the streaming space with its yet-to-be-named streaming platform. Kevin Reilly, the chief creative officer Turner and direct-to-consumer, said at the recent TCA winter press tour that a beta version of the service will not feature original content, with originals expected to begin launching in 2020. He said that WarnerMedia will be looking to mine in-house properties–like “Gremlins”–to generate new content for the service but that not all originals would be based on WarnerMedia IP.
Reilly also hinted that major Warner properties like “Friends” would eventually be pulled from other streaming services like Netflix in favor of having them exclusively on Warner OTT. “You can expect that the crown jewels of Warner will ultimately end up on the new service,” he said, adding that “sharing destination assets like that… (is) not a good model.”
#2
DVD Talk Legend
re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
Could be interesting. I’d rather see a third film but I’ll watch this if it’s made.
Last edited by Mike86; 02-28-19 at 12:54 PM.
#4
DVD Talk Legend
re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
I'm assuming this will be aimed towards kids, as opposed to something more teen/adult-oriented? I dunno...seems like a bad idea.
#6
#7
re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
Would have made more sense if they made this back in the 1980's and aired in on Saturday morning. If this is aimed toward children, i don't see how it can be sucessful as most kids today probably have never heard of the movie.
#8
re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax

WarnerMedia has confirmed a 10-episode series order to Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a half-hour animated prequel to the original 1984 Gremlins live-action movie. The project, from Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation, had been in the works for months with an informal green light.
The animated TV adaptation, written by Tze Chun, tells the original story of the shop owner Mr. Wing character from the 1984 movie and its 1990 sequel, played by Keye Luke. Set in 1920s Shanghai, it reveals how 10-year-old Sam Wing met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will be produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation, divisions of the movie franchise’s producers Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment. The series is executive produced by Amblin TV’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, Sam Register (Animaniacs), with Chun and Brendan Hay (Robot Chicken) serving as co-executive producers. Dan Krall (Coraline) is a supervising producer.
This is the second animated series for Amblin TV, which also has Animaniacs at Hulu.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is part of a rampup at WarnerMedia, which has been greenlighting series ahead of the streaming platform’s launch. Pickups include Dune: The Sisterhood, Station Eleven, ‘Made For Love, Tokyo Vice and Love Life.
#9
Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
Gremlins, the fluffy and cute-until-they’re-creepy pint-sized Mogwai monsters that made their debut on the big screen the summer of ’84, will be making a comeback to wreak havoc soon enough. Variety has confirmed the voice cast for “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai,” the upcoming animated family series from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Television for HBO Max based on Chris Columbus’ classic horror/comedy “Gremlins.” The show has been in production since at least July 2019.
Set in 1920s Shanghai, the series boasts a cast that includes Ming-Na Wen (“Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D,” “The Mandalorian,” “Mulan”), BD Wong (“Mr. Robot,” “Jurassic World”) and James Hong (“Big Trouble in Little China,” “Blade Runner,” “Mulan”). In addition, Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,” “Perry Mason”), has been tapped to voice the half-hour show’s villain.
The upcoming, 10-episode animated television adaptation reveals the story of how naïve 10-year-old Sam Wing (the future mysterious Chinatown shopkeep Mr. Wing in the original live-action flick), met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
Protagonist Sam Wing will be voiced by Izaac Wang. Sam’s mother, Fong Wing, will be voiced by Wen, and his father, Hon Wing, will be voiced by Wong. Sam’s mom is described as a doctor of Chinese medicine who is “resourceful, slyly funny and fiercely protective of her family,” while his dad is characterized as a “calm rock” that has “never believed his father-in-law’s tales of magic and adventure.” The elder of the Wing family, known only as Grandpa, is voiced by Hong. He claims to have traveled the world on grand adventures and he alone knows the true power (and secrets) of the Mogwai and the importance of protecting them. Gizmo will be voiced by A.J. LoCascio, and a 12-year-old human friend of Sam’s, Elle, will be voiced by Gabrielle Green.
Rhys voices nemesis Riley Greene, a power-hungry English industrialist and treasure hunter who wields black magic that is determined to stop at nothing in his pursuit of Gizmo and the mythical treasure of the Mogwai.
Showrunner Tze Chun will write “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai,” and serve as a co-executive producer. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television will executive produce along with Sam Register — they have all worked together previously on “Animaniacs.” Brendan Hay will also co-executive produce with Dan Krall serving as supervising producer. Amblin will produce in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
Set in 1920s Shanghai, the series boasts a cast that includes Ming-Na Wen (“Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D,” “The Mandalorian,” “Mulan”), BD Wong (“Mr. Robot,” “Jurassic World”) and James Hong (“Big Trouble in Little China,” “Blade Runner,” “Mulan”). In addition, Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,” “Perry Mason”), has been tapped to voice the half-hour show’s villain.
The upcoming, 10-episode animated television adaptation reveals the story of how naïve 10-year-old Sam Wing (the future mysterious Chinatown shopkeep Mr. Wing in the original live-action flick), met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
Protagonist Sam Wing will be voiced by Izaac Wang. Sam’s mother, Fong Wing, will be voiced by Wen, and his father, Hon Wing, will be voiced by Wong. Sam’s mom is described as a doctor of Chinese medicine who is “resourceful, slyly funny and fiercely protective of her family,” while his dad is characterized as a “calm rock” that has “never believed his father-in-law’s tales of magic and adventure.” The elder of the Wing family, known only as Grandpa, is voiced by Hong. He claims to have traveled the world on grand adventures and he alone knows the true power (and secrets) of the Mogwai and the importance of protecting them. Gizmo will be voiced by A.J. LoCascio, and a 12-year-old human friend of Sam’s, Elle, will be voiced by Gabrielle Green.
Rhys voices nemesis Riley Greene, a power-hungry English industrialist and treasure hunter who wields black magic that is determined to stop at nothing in his pursuit of Gizmo and the mythical treasure of the Mogwai.
Showrunner Tze Chun will write “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai,” and serve as a co-executive producer. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television will executive produce along with Sam Register — they have all worked together previously on “Animaniacs.” Brendan Hay will also co-executive produce with Dan Krall serving as supervising producer. Amblin will produce in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
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John Pannozzi (02-16-21)
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
Eh.. we’ll see. I don’t mind that it’s animated, but not sure why it needs to be a prequel. Also I would rather just see a proper third film. I have HBO Max though so I’m likely to check this out.
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John Pannozzi (02-16-21)
#12
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Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
I only want a third film if Dante, Galligan & Cates return and it’s still puppets. I’m fairly confident I’m not going to get what I want.
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#13
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Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
There's no way Hollywood would ever pull off a Gremlins movie these days without almost all of them being CGI. They'd probably do a practical Gizmo puppet but the others would all be CGI.
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John Pannozzi (02-16-21)
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Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
Given the success of The Mandalorian, I would expect something more like this. It has shown that traditional puppetry can be extremely effective, but Hollywood still isn't ready to take that step back on a large scale. I could be wrong, but I would also imagine the cost of puppetry has gone up in comparison to CG, just by economy of scale.
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John Pannozzi (02-20-21)
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John Pannozzi (02-20-21)
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Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
This was already renewed for a second season.
https://deadline.com/2021/02/gremlin...ca-1234695495/
https://deadline.com/2021/02/gremlin...ca-1234695495/
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Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
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whotony (05-20-22)
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Re: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai -- prequel animated series coming to HBOMax
They probably are only referring to him that way in the synopsis for clarity.
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John Pannozzi (07-25-22)