Gremlins, the cute and cute little-even-they-are-scary Mogwai monsters that made their big screen debut in the summer of 84, will be returning to wreak havoc soon. Variety confirmed the voice cast for “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai”, Warner Bros. ‘next family animated series. Animation and Amblin Television for HBO Max based on Chris Columbus’ classic horror / comedy, “Gremlins”. The show has been in production since at least July 2019.
Located in Shanghai in the 1920s, the series features a cast that includes Ming-Na Wen (“Agent’s of SHIELD”, “The Mandalorian”, “Mulan”), BD Wong (“Mr. Robot”, “Jurassic World”) and James Hong (“Big Trouble in Little China”, “Blade Runner”, “Mulan”). In addition, Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,” “Perry Mason”), was cast to voice the half-hour show villain.
The next 10-episode animated television adaptation reveals the story of how the naive 10-year-old Sam Wing (Chinatown’s mysterious future shopkeeper, Mr. Wing in the original live-action film), met the young Mogwai named Gizmo. Together with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a dangerous journey through the countryside of China, encountering, and sometimes fighting, colorful monsters and spirits of Chinese folklore. In their quest to return Gizmo to his family and discover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
The protagonist Sam Wing will be voiced by Izaac Wang. Sam’s mother, Fong Wing, will be voiced by Wen, and his father, Hon Wing, will be voiced by Wong. Sam’s mother is described as a Chinese medicine doctor who is “ingenious, maliciously funny and fiercely protective of her family”, while her father is characterized as a “calm rock” who “never believed in his father-in-law’s magic stories and adventure. “The oldest in the Wing family, known only as grandpa, is voiced by Hong. He claims to have traveled the world on great adventures and only he knows the true power (and secrets) of the Mogwai and the importance of protecting them. Gizmo will be voiced by AJ LoCascio, and Sam’s 12-year-old human friend, Elle, will be voiced by Gabrielle Green.
Rhys gives voice to enemy Riley Greene, a power-hungry English industrialist and treasure hunter who uses black magic and is determined to stop at nothing in his search for Gizmo and the mythical Mogwai treasure.
Showrunner Tze Chun will write “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” and will act as an executive co-producer. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, will be executive producers along with Sam Register – all of whom have previously worked together on “Animaniacs”. Brendan Hay will also be the executive co-producer with Dan Krall as a supervising producer. Amblin will produce in association with Warner Bros. Animation.