While there are many Gremlins fans out there who are still hoping for a new movie in the franchise about the cute little furry mogwais who get a little narky if fed after midnight, but I don’t think anyone expected that we would first get to see Jamie Foxx dressed as a drunk Gizmo making a heartfelt testimonial for liquor. However as Halloween rolled around this year, that is exactly what we were given as Foxx posted a video on his Instagram account of himself wearing an inflatable costume enjoying a drink. As Foxx noted in his comment on the post, you aren’t meant to feed them after midnight, but he didn’t really seem to care about that.
While it is purely coincidental, the timing of Foxx’s post does come as HBO Max ready their new animated prequel series based on the Gremlins franchise, entitled Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. The series will be ten episodes long, and is set in Shanghai in the 1920s, telling the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing becomes acquainted with a strange creature called a mogwai. As well as the familiar furry Gizmo, Sam will be joined by a teenage street thief Elle as they journey through the countryside of China, fighting mythical monsters from Chinese folklore on a quest to return Gizmo to his kin. However, their journey leads them to uncover a secret treasure and be hunted down by a power-mad industrialist who has an army of gremlins at his disposal.
The series was originally greenlit by WarnerMedia in 2019 as an exclusive for HBO Max, although it was announced in September this year that the series will make its premiere as part of Cartoon Network’s ACME Night block before heading to the streaming service at a late date. Original Gremlins director Joe Dante is on board the project as a creative consultant, and the series will utilize the voice talents of Izaac Wang, Ming-Na Wen, B.D. Wong, James Hong, Matthew Rhys, and Gabrielle Green, along with A.J. Locascio taking over voicing Gizmo from Howie Mandel who provided the voice in both movies. The series was given the go-ahead for a second season back in February this year before an episode has even aired, so some is expecting it to popular, and that can only mean good things for Gremlins fans.
Among the many 80s properties that have been returning with legacy sequels, Gremlins is one of the few that has, as yet, not managed to get a new movie going, although there always seems to be an ongoing effort. Gremlins have continued to be a hugely popular franchise, and recently NECA has announced a rerelease of some of their mogwai action figures, as well as life-size replicas of the Gremlins 2 mogwais coming soon from Trick or Treat Studios. All in all, it’s a good time to be a gremlin fan.
As for Jamie Foxx, he is about to get a legacy sequel of his own as he reprises his role of Electro in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which he brings back his The Amazing Spider-Man 2 villain to take on Tom Holland’s web-slinger along with Alfred Molinas Doc Ock and more. Fans of the Marvel franchise are hoping for a new glimpse at these villains, as well as Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, who are all rumored to be joining the fray, with a second trailer which is expected to arrive with this weekend’s release of Eternals in theaters.
Source: movieweb.com