Chris Columbus says the new Gremlins and Goonies are reboots, not sequels

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It has been an on-again, off-again process for the new GREMLINS and GOONIES movies. For years we have heard that new entries were being developed for both films and nothing has quite happened. Even though the GREMLINS film seems much farther along than THE GOONIES, both are films that would excite a wide fan-base of people who grew up with both movies. Others will be mad no matter what anyone does. But, it looks like there is at least one person from the original movies involved with the new chapters in each franchise.

Chris Columbus, screenwriter on both GREMLINS and THE GOONIES, spoke with ScreenCrush about the status of both projects which he says are in "heavy development".

The stuff that I’m involved with — the Gremlins and Goonies reboots, for instance — they would do that without me. So, I’m staying involved just so I can be protective and actually protect what people love about those movies so it doesn’t go off track.

We know for a fact that Joe Dante is not returning in any capacity for GREMLINS and that while Richard Donner has been vocal in bringing back the original cast for a new GOONIES, that is appearing unlikely now that Columbus has used the dreaded word reboot.

With both of these films in development hell for decades, we may never see either come to fruition, but Columbus also said it is a very slow process and he doesn't see either film happening any time soon. As time drags on, it seems less feasible to bring the original stars back, even in a cameo capacity. But, it has been three decades since Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill played their iconic roles, so you can never rule it out completely. I just hope that when these movies do happen they are handled well.