GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI Creative Team Discuss the Heart of the Series and Pitching to Steven Spielberg

Fans of the original Gremlins films have been excited for years about the animated prequel series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. The show started development just before the pandemic, which of course halted progression, resulting in major delays, but it’s back on track and getting ready to release later this year. In anticipation of its arrival, the show’s writers and director sat down at France’s Annecy Animation Festival, where the series premiered, and talked about the history involved in the lore, and pitching the series to Steven Spielberg, who executive produced the first two films under his Amblin banner.

Series writer Tze Chun talked about meeting with Spielberg, saying:

“I was incredibly nervous. I knew that I was nervous when I was stressing out in the parking lot,” Chun admitted, to audience laughter. “We pitched and it went well. And Steven Spielberg’s first question was: ‘Is Joe happy?’”

Joe was very happy. But he also gave credit to Spielberg for the story continuing to have such a fanbase, saying:

“In the original script of ‘Gremlins,’ the Gizmo character turned into a bad Gremlin after about half an hour. We planned to make the movie a little bit darker. But Steven Spielberg decided in his wisdom that Gizmo should stick around and be the hero’s pal. If we had made the movie the other way, nobody would remember it. The addition of Gizmo made the difference. In his own way, he’s the star of the movie.”

Joe Dante added what really drew him in when being pitched the series:

“What I responded to most was the idea of doing a prequel, especially after I had kind of made the sequel to ‘Gremlins’ sequel-proof. It’s a brilliant way of getting back into the series by going back to the roots.”

Writer Brendan Hay also talked about making the show while in lockdown, across two continents:

“One thing we always went back to throughout the whole production in every department from story boards to animation was to keep the feel of an Amblin movie. So the scares have to actually be scary, the laughs have to really play as funny and you have to actually care about the characters.”

It sounds like this series has every piece of the puzzle to make it a great show that fans will love. Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is due to hit HBO later this year. Are you looking forward to it?

via: Variety