Chris Columbus takes on “Gremlins” reboot

Filmmaker Chris Columbus, responsible for the direction of the first two Harry Potter films, has confirmed he will be lending his skills as a producer to the upcoming reboot of Gremlins. Having written the screenplay for the 1984 holiday cult classic, fans were surprised when he chose to not return for the sequel in 1990. Columbus recently sat down with Slash Film’s Peter Sciretta and revealed the reasoning behind these decisions:

Initially, I remember back in ’84-’85 when they approached me and said, ‘Do you wanna write the sequel[?]’ and I said … this is before the obsession with franchises. So my feeling was no. We’ve told the story, that was that[…] 1980’s [sic] thinking. And then suddenly, all these years later, we were approached with an idea that really sounded like an interesting version.

It’s important to note that Columbus made it clear this project would not be a simple remake of Gremlins, instead choosing to use the term “reinvention.” When asked if original characters would be included, he went on to reference the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a possible source of inspiration:

I mean, one thing I learned from the Star Wars trailer is — and actually, we knew this all along, and J.J.’s been doing it and really doing it effectively, beautifully — touching into that emotional connection we have with our past.

Since Columbus wasn’t able to reveal anything in terms of plot or a more precise release time frame, Gremlins fans will just have to wait it out to see where the franchise will be headed!

Read Slash Film’s full article here. Columbus’s newest film, Pixels, arrives in theaters July 24.

Are you looked forward to this updated version of Gremlins? Let us know in the comments!