When Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai debuts on HBO Max it’ll be different from the original feature films in a few ways. In addition to being a serialized animated adventure, it will be without one of its initial pillars, Howie Mandel. The comedian previously voiced Gizmo in both the 1984 original film and its 1990 sequel, but executive producer Tze Chun has confirmed in a new interview that Mandel won’t be returning. Gizmo will remain the primary Mogwai but he’ll have a brand new voice actor, luckily there will still be plenty of evil Gremlins along for the ride too.
“We will see evil Mogwai, but I think that is as much as I can say for right now,” Chun confirmed to Geek Vibes Nations. “But what we really wanted to do was create more stories set in the Gremlins universe. We also wanted to service the fans. You know the fandom for Gremlins is so strong for movies that have been around for almost 40 years. We definitely have a lot of kind of Easter eggs and Gremlins mythology that hopefully will satisfy long term fans while also bringing in new fans. The idea is to this will be a co-viewing show. Some of the models that we are looking at are Pixar, studio Ghibli movies, things that adults, kids and teenagers can all watch together.”
It was previously confirmed that Gremlins and Gremlins 2 director Joe Dante acted as a consultant on the animated series. In a separate interview, Dante said the move from live-action to animation was a good one for the series since ” in animation, you kind of get away with almost anything you can think of.” As we know from 1990’s “The New Batch,” the minds behind Gremlins can think of a lot.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is scheduled to arrive in 2021 on HBO Max. The series will have ten total episodes in its first season when it debuts and its official description reads:
“We travel back to 1920s Shanghai to reveal the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie) 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.”
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