Both ‘Gremlins’ Movies (& 1 TV Show) in Order

When ‘Gremlins’ came out in 1984, it quickly became a cult classic. Almost 40 years later, the franchise now counts two films and an animated TV show and is just as popular as ever. Holiday elements of the films made ‘Gremlins’ a Christmas classic as well. If you’re looking to revisit the franchise this Holiday season, here’s everything you need to know

‘Gremlins’ movies (& TV show) in order by release date

If you’re looking to rewatch the entire ‘Gremlins’ franchise this holiday season, you might want to know how many movies and shows about the Mogwai creatures came out over the years. Here’s a complete list by release date to let you dive right in:

1. ‘Gremlins’ (1984)
2. ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ (1990)
3. ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ (2022-)

As you can see, the franchise is still ongoing, almost four decades after it began. Throughout the rest of the article, I’ll explain how all of the films and shows are connected and how to watch them in chronological order. Warning: minor spoilers are possible throughout the rest of the article.

Are ‘Gremlins’ movies (& TV show) connected? What’s the best order to watch them?

Naturally, all the entries of the ‘Gremlins’ franchise are connected to each other. ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ was a direct sequel to the first film. After surviving the Kingston Falls Incident in the first movie, Billy and Kate move to New York City to start over and forget about the mayhem they witnessed.

However, the very same incident happens, only this time, it’s in NYC. This film leaned even more into the comedic aspect of ‘Gremlins,’ but it was just as great in its own right, as many fans would agree.

The new show on Max, ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai,’ is a completely child-friendly animated TV show, serving as a prequel to the movies when 10-year-old Sam Wing and Gizmo the Mogwai were still in China.

While the show lacks the horror elements that the movies had, the first season was quite well-received. In fact, the show was renewed for a second season early, even before the first season came out.

Now, I still believe the best way to watch the franchise is by following the release order, especially if you’re watching it as a part of your Christmas movie list. Although the show is chronologically a prequel to the movies, I recommend you to watch it last, as it really is a completely different, lighthearted series cool for watching with kids.

‘Gremlins’ movies (& TV show) in chronological order

As we’ve mentioned a couple of times, the 2022 Max original series ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ is a prequel to the 1984 and 1990 movies. We follow Sam Wing and Gizmo on adventures in China, much prior to their arrival in the United States.

Therefore, if you want to watch every movie and TV show from the list in chronological order, this is the correct way to do it:

1. ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ (2022-)
2. ‘Gremlins’ (1984)
3. ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ (1990)

Now, if you choose to follow the chronological order of events and watch the prequel show first, nothing major would change for you in terms of plot or dramatic spoilers for the film or anything. You’d just walk into the film already knowing the ‘rules’ about the Mogwai – like the ‘no water’ rule or the ‘no feeding after midnight’ rule.

The only thing that’d be different for you is your expectations. If you’ve never seen ‘Gremlins’ and start of with the series to follow the chronological order, you’d likely expect a lighthearted, kid-friendly film, when in fact, you’re up for something totally different. You’ll also have a much deeper backstory for Gizmo and where he came from, which is kind of cool.

Where to watch the above-mentioned movies (& TV show)?

The road to watching all three entries of the ‘Gremlins’ franchise (so far) is quite simple – all you need is a subscription to Max, as the two movies and the Max original TV series are all available for streaming on the platform in most countries.

If you don’t have a Max subscription, or if any of the two films aren’t available on Max in your country, you can always find them to buy/rent on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Vudu, DIRECTV, or the Microsoft Store.

Will there be more ‘Gremlins’ movies?

Rumors around a potential third ‘Gremlins’ movie never seem to stop. Every few years, new rumors start swirling around the Internet about the film being in development, but so far, nothing is officially confirmed, and everything remains in the realm of speculation.

For instance, last year, reports about a movie called ‘Gremlins 3: Curse of the Mogwai’ came out, claiming the film will be released this December, but they were evidently wrong, as we haven’t received a single word about such a project coming up in the near future.

Additionally, there’s a ‘Gremlins 3’ IMDb page that states the film is ‘in development’ with Chris Columbus and Carl Ellsworth as the movie’s writers, but take that with a grain of salt as well, as there’s no official announcement anywhere to be found.

What we do know since 2021, though – even before season one premiered – is that ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ will get a second season on Max. Now, the industry-wide strikes may have disrupted the plans for the show’s release, so we still don’t know when the new season will arrive, but there’s no word on any cancelation, so it’s likely only a matter of time.

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