Gremlins, the popular 1980s film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, was a major box office success, earning $165 million. Fans of the movie are incredibly dedicated, and now there’s exciting news: a special screening of a unique edition. This version is a 2.5-hour assembly cut that was never intended for public viewing and, technically, shouldn’t even exist.
When Joe Dante introduced the Gremlins special edition!
On April 30th, 2026, a small, curious audience gathered for a screening, unsure of what they were about to see. It quickly became clear when director Joe Dante appeared to introduce the film, explaining, “This is a very unusual event. We rarely revisit old, unfinished projects and show them to the public, flaws and all.”
The event drew a notable crowd, including writers and directors like Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky (known for their work on Gremlins 3), Drew Hancock (Companion), Rob Savage (The Boogeyman), Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Novocaine), Brian Duffield (Whalefall), Akela Cooper (M3GAN), and Guy Busick (Ready or Not). Also in attendance was Michael Clear, a producer at Atomic Monster, director Adam Robitel (Escape Room), and Steve Asbell, head of 20th Century Studios, among other industry professionals.
Clocking in at two hours and thirty-five minutes – an hour longer than the first film – this version was the subject of rumors for years. Dante eventually confirmed he had a copy. It’s believed to be the only surviving version, a VHS tape which he gave to The Gremlins Museum, an archive of props run by Ian Grant. Grant spent months converting the tape to a digital format so it could be viewed.
Okay, so I finally checked out the Gremlins special edition, and it’s pretty wild! There’s a bunch of extra footage, including a whole different take on the story where the first Gremlin doesn’t even show up until an hour in. But once it does, they really give it screen time – the bar scene alone is like ten minutes longer! They even show the Gremlins just…walking around. The biggest shock, though? Phoebe Cates’ iconic Santa speech is completely gone. Seriously, it’s nowhere to be found in this version!
It looks like a release – whether in theaters or for home viewing – will probably happen closer to the release date of Gremlins 3, which is currently scheduled for November 19, 2027.
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2026-05-04 02:23