‘Gremlins 3’ Delayed Nearly a Year as First Teaser is Revealed

Few franchises have tested fan patience quite like ‘Gremlins’. The last live-action entry was ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch,’ which came out in 1990, and talk of ‘Gremlins 3’ has floated around Hollywood for years without ever quite landing.

That finally began to change in 2025, when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav first revealed the project during an investor call. Chris Columbus is set to direct, with Steven Spielberg returning as executive producer. The sequel was dated for November 19, 2027, which gave fans a target to circle on the calendar.

Now the calendar has shifted again. Warner Bros. has moved the film to October 6, 2028, a delay of close to 1 year. The studio made the announcement on Wednesday, alongside a separate change for DC Studios, which moved ‘Dynamic Duo’ to September 22, 2028, from June 20, 2028.

10.6.28. Only In Theaters. pic.twitter.com/kZVLPrNd12

— Warner Bros. (@warnerbros) September 23, 2026

Warner Bros. hasn’t said why. There’s no confirmed explanation for the delay, and some fans will read the change as a sign that the project is harder to pull off than expected.

The studio has some reasons to feel good about the new slot. The first weekend of October has worked well for Warner Bros. before, including with ‘Joker,’ which grossed $1.078 billion worldwide after opening on October 4, 2019. Collider notes that the merger with Paramount did not influence the date changes, and Paramount has no movies scheduled to debut on either the old date or the new one.

The date change didn’t come alone. Warner Bros. shared an 11-second clip on September 23, ending on a date card that reads “10.6.28. Only In Theaters.” The teaser shows one of the iconic creatures peeking out from a backpack, and the red date stamp fits the franchise’s horror-comedy tone.

It’s the first footage from the film, and it reveals very little. No cast, plot or creative-team details accompany it, and the official title has not been disclosed either. Fans still noticed. The teaser post from DiscussingFilm had racked up 1.8M views and 38K likes within hours.

The screenplay is one of the more intriguing parts of the package. The directing duo behind ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines,’ Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, teamed up with Columbus to write the new installment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Their credentials are solid, since ‘Bloodlines’ grossed $315.0 million worldwide on a budget of around $50 million, becoming the highest-grossing and best-reviewed entry in its franchise.

Variety adds that the current draft has changed hands. Hannah Marks is writing the script from an original draft by Columbus, Lipovsky and Stein. Columbus also has deep roots in the series, since he wrote the 1984 original but sat out the 1990 sequel.

The production team is stacked with Amblin veterans. Kristie Macosko Krieger and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin, alongside Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe of 26th Street Pictures. One notable absence is Joe Dante, who directed the first 2 films, is 79 and is not returning to direct the new one.

A lot remains under wraps. No plot details have been revealed, and no cast members have been named. That means the biggest open question is whether familiar faces from the earlier films will return.

For now, all we have is a date, a creative team with real horror credentials and 11 seconds of a Mogwai hiding in a backpack. It’s a small tease, but it shows the film is still moving forward.

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