Gizmo might sound just a bit different in Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, as a writer for the series has confirmed the America’s Got Talent judge will not be involved. In the original Gremlins along with Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Mandel provided the voice of the horror genre’s cutest creature. Next, Gizmo is set to return in the upcoming animated Gremlins series for HBO Max, but according to writer Tze Chun, the Mogwai will have a new voice this time.
“Howie Mandel is not returning to voice Gizmo. But we will have some casting announcements soon,” Chun tells Geek Vibes Nation in a recent interview. While that’s not quite the answer many longtime fans of the franchise had been hoping for, the good news is that the series will still feature other actors from the original films, although it’s still not clear exactly who those will be.
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“There is definitely going to be some exciting cameos from people,” Chun adds, noting how the original film’s director is also closely involved. “What has been really exciting is that Joe Dante is a consulting producer on the project. He looks at scripts, he looks at the artwork. It’s been really amazing. And I know that a lot of people on the crew and the writers are huge huge Gremlin fans. So it has been really great.”
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will serve as a prequel series to the first film. Says Chun: “It tells the story of the old Chinese man, Mr. Wing, who runs the shop where Peltzer first gets Gizmo. He is kind of his protector and our show is actually an animated prequel that takes place in 1920s China. It follows young Mr. Wing when he was only 10 years old. He meets Gizmo and they go on adventures in China. It is a very serialized story. It is against the backdrop of Chinese mythology, that time period, with a lot of Mogwai mythology as well.”
The series will premiere on HBO Max sometime in 2021.
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