Jenna Ortega is often dubbed as the scream queen of our times, the actor has proven her acting prowess appearing in iconic horror franchises like Scream, Beetlejuice, and Addams Family spin-off Wednesday. She is currently promoting her upcoming film in the genre, Death of a Unicorn, where she stars opposite Paul Rudd. However, there is another iconic franchise she’d like to join next – Gremlins.
Recently, on the SXSW red carpet, the actor was asked what other mythical creature she’d love to see back on screen. She mulled over it, discarding options like mermaids and even the Loch Ness monster. Though she divulged that she’d love to see Gremlins on-screen again and also hinted that she’d love to join the franchise. “Ya know what I used to love as a kid? Gremlins,” Ortega answered with a smile.

“Would love… Gremlins 3? 4? Call me.”

‘Gremlins 3’ Has Been on Chris Columbus’ Mind

While Chris Columbus is well known for movies like Home Alone, the first two Harry Potter films, Mrs. Doubtfire, among others, but before becoming a blockbuster director, he penned the script for Gremlins. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Warner Bros is eyeing a third movie in the franchise, on which the fan-favorite director is working on.
While the movie is in the very early production stage, Columbus previously told Collider about a possible script he has for Gremlins 3 back in 2020. “I wrote a script, so there is an existing script. We’re working out some rights issues right now, so we’re just trying to figure out when the best time to make that film would be.” He further revealed that he’d like to go the traditional route over CGI for the third iteration, “I would still do it the same way – I would do it as tangible puppets, not CGI. Maybe having — you know we had one stop-motion scene in the first Gremlins, but I don’t think I’d use much CGI in Gremlins 3.” While nothing is set in stone, another WB movie, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which also stars Ortega, went the practical way and was quite successful at the box office.
The first Gremlin movie was a major success, grossing $212 million on an $11 million budget. Written by Columbus and directed by Joe Dante, the movie is still well loved by fans and has an 86 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. The sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, helmed by Dante, however, was a dud at the box office but in time has gained cult-classic status.
Gremlins 3 is still in development; no release date has yet been announced. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Gremlins

Release Date

May 23, 2023

Showrunner

Tze Chun

Writers

Peter Chen, Anna Christopher, Tze Chun, Brendan Hay, Sarah Nerboso

Franchise(s)

Gremlins