First 'Gremlins 3' Teaser Officially Brings Back an '80s Horror Legend

Image via Warner Bros. Published Sep 23, 2026, 7:35 PM EDT Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys. Sign in to your Collider account This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.The 1980s were a great era for horror of all varieties. Slashers took off with the release of Friday the 13th at the beginning of the decade; legendary filmmakers delivered some of their best work, like John Carpenter's The Thing and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and the frights met the funnies in classics like Beetlejuice, Evil Dead 2, and Ghostbusters. In the latter camp, Joe Dante introduced a runaway success in the form of Gremlins, which taught everyone about the creatures known as the Mogwai and the all-important rules for their care. It grossed a staggering $212.9 million at the box office and turned the lovable Gizmo into a widely recognizable mascot. Despite that, it was only last year that the franchise finally officially announced a third installment, 36 years after its last theatrical outing. Alas, despite the initial release window, the Gremlins won't make it back to the big screen in time for next Christmas after all. Warner Bros. has pushed the much-anticipated untitled Chris Columbus-directed sequel back nearly a full year from Nov. 19, 2027, to Oct. 6, 2028. It's not all bad news for the return of the rule-bound little furballs, though. Accompanying the new date, the studio unveiled the first official teaser that doesn't quite let the titular creature out of the bag, but does give them a tiny peek to tide fans over. It's a long-overdue return to live-action for the 80s horror icons after Dante's cult classic sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch took Gizmo and company into the 90s. While the date changes to both Gremlins 3 and DC's puppet animation hybrid film Dynamic Duo take place in the shadow of Paramount's mega-merger with Warner Bros., neither move was shaped by it. Gremlins will now be released closer to Halloween, a decision made in part because of WB's past success in October with blockbusters like Joker. The series' horror roots make it a fitting choice too, even though Dante's original is more associated with Christmas. Whatever weekend the film debuted on, the Mogwai weren't set to face any Paramount-backed features. Release Date December 15, 2023 Writers Carl Ellsworth