10 Franchises Other Than Star Wars That Will Return... Whether You Like It Or Not

10. Gremlins

Reservations about whether or not Gremlins should make a cinematic return can be encapsulated using only three letters: "C", "G" and "I". All you have to do is imagine how the film would look if it was made now and alarms bells ring loud and clear, and yet the most troubling thing is that CGI is probably the key argument being used to validate rebooting the franchise, at least in the minds of Warner executives with one eye on the youth demographic. Whichever way you look at it there is little optimism on a Gremlins retread being anything other than a lobotomised, CGI drenched money-grab. As we've seen with Robocop, the current approach to renovating 80s classics is to remove the darker, more challenging elements that were crucial aspects of why the films were so successful in the first place, and what results is something resembling the Made-for-TV edits that were censored of any swearing, nudity or excessive gore/violence to allow for broadcast on commercial flights and network television. The slim hope for Gremlins hinges upon original director Joe Dante's involvement, or finding a talent to match Dante's unwillingness to shy away from using darker shades in his films, even those aimed at children. Unfortunately though this hasn't always made Dante popular with studios, leading to insubstantial marketing support that has prevented accomplished fare such as Matinee and The Hole finding the wider audience they deserve. He has commented on a proposed third Gremlins film but only to say that he believes a new version is in the works. Given this perceived distance from the project his involvement would have to seem doubtful at this stage.