As studios begin to divert shows away from the big streaming networks towards their own, one recent announcement has got us excited for some more of that sweet 1980s nostalgia.
The upcoming streaming service from WarnerMedia this week announced another original series has been ordered for its quickly expanding roster – a Gremlins prequel series.
A 10-episode series of the adult-orientated comedy has reportedly been commissioned, and will officially be called Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.
The new prequel series will be set in Shanghai in the 1920s, and will explore how 10-year-old Sam Wing (the future shop owner Mr Wing from the original 1984 film) came to meet the little Mogwai called Gizmo.
Partnered up with a teenage street thief called Elle, the trio take a dangerous journey through China, encountering colourful monsters, spirits and beings from Chinese folklore.
According to Hollywood Reporter, as Elle and Sam endeavour to return Gizmo to his family, they uncover legendary treasure, leading them to be chased by a ‘power-hungry industrialist’ and a growing army of evil Gremlins.
Tze Chun, the writer of Gotham, is said to be penning the script, while Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey from Amblin Television, and Sam Register, will executive produce. Warner Bros. and Amblin produced the original 1984 film, and the 1990 sequel, so it seems the prequel TV series will be in good hands.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is the latest show to be picked up by Warners’ upcoming streaming service, which is set to have a soft launch later this year, before rolling out fully.
The studio has already greenlit The Flight Attendant, a thriller starring Kaley Cuoco, Paul Feig’s comedy Love Life, which stars Anna Kendrick, as well as Tokyo Vice starring Ansel Elgort, as well as Dune: The Sisterhood, Made for Love and Station Eleven.
The first Gremlins film was released in 1984, written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante. It was a major box office success, grossing over $153 million worldwide, off a reported budget of just $11 million. The sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, was released in 1990.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.