Chris Columbus Says New Gremlins Movie Will Be a Reboot

While he is currently writing a screen adaptation of the indie video game phenomenon Five Nights at Freddy’s, with the intention of directing, Chris Columbus recently confirmed to Metro that the “twisted and dark” new Gremlins movie that he hyped last summer is still in development at his 1492 Pictures. Columbus previously stated that the movie will use a combination of practical creature effects and “minimal CGI,” which is exactly what movie purists wanted to hear — Rian Johnson recently went back to using a puppet for Yoda in The Force Awakens, eschewing the CGI version from the prequels, to the delight of fans. Now, Columbus has revealed that the movie often referred to as “Gremlins 3” will not actually be a sequel to 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch, but “almost definitely be a reboot.”

Most of his older work still holds up today, which Columbus said was his conscious “goal” while making movies like The Goonies, Gremlins and Home Alone:

You are a product of the time you shoot the movie, so there are a few things that give away what year it was. But there is a timeless quality, which starts with the story, which you know has an emotional connection to the audience that you know will continue through generations. But then there is production design, visual design, and making sure that it is appealing. There is a certain appeal to those films that helps to retain a certain freshness.