Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Jenna Ortega expresses interest in joining another iconic ‘80s horror franchise. The young star of Tim Burton’s recent Beetlejuice sequel has only been acting in films since 2013, but she’s well on her way to becoming a horror icon, boasting a filmography loaded with terrifying titles.
Ortega started her horror journey very early on, appearing in 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2, but then stayed away from the genre until 2020’s satirical slasher The Babysitter: Killer Queen. She began truly establishing herself as a scream queen in 2022, starring in the Scream reboot, Studio 666, X and American Carnage. She was back for more meta-horror in 2023’s Scream VI, following that up with 2024’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, her second collaboration with Burton after her star turn as the title character in Netflix’s supernatural series Wednesday.
Ortega Next Wants To Star In Gremlins 3
She Loved Gremlins As A Kid
Having already graced several big horror series with her presence, Ortega says she now wants to join the Gremlins franchise. Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg teamed up for 1984’s original horror-comedy about a plague of little green monsters spawned from an innocent-looking, fuzzy creature named Gizmo, and Dante reluctantly came back for 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch, imagining new Gremlins variants, and putting an even-more-comedic spin on the material.
Gremlins 3 is indeed still in development, and Wednesday’s Ortega wants to be a part of it, indicating she’s eager to star. The actor made her childhood wish known during an appearance at SXSW (via IMDb):
“Ya know what I used to love as a kid? Gremlins. Would love… Gremlins 3? 4? Call me.”
Our Take On Ortega Wanting To Star In Gremlins 3
The Sequel Has Been In Development For 8 Years
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice marked Ortega’s first appearance in a revival of a 1980s classic, after Scream saw her helping a 1990s horror series get its rhythm back. Luckily for the long-time franchise fan, plans have been made for Gremlins 3, and back in January, it was confirmed that the project is still alive, with the original movie’s writer Chris Columbus remaining attached. This on the heels of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a light-and-fluffy animated series from HBO.
Ortega’s interest in joining the Gremlins franchise isn’t enough by itself to fuel faster development on a sequel, but it’s nevertheless good news that a young, popular star wants in. Ideally, Dante would return to the franchise as director, and with luck, the sequel would also coax Phoebe Cates out of retirement to reprise the role of Kate.
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Will Gremlins 3 Ever Happen?
Even though an animated series has resurrected interest in the Gremlins franchise, Gremlins 3 still hasn’t happened.
Gremlins 3 may seem a long way from being made a reality, but perhaps as Ortega’s star rises, she will accumulate enough clout to put some juice behind the sequel. Given the recent rash of delayed sequels, including Ortega’s own Scream and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Gremlins would seem a logical franchise to revisit. The original films’ mix of horror and comedy still has the power to delight, even all these decades later, and bringing that special blend back to screens could make for big box office.
Source: IMDb/Instagram
Gremlins
The Gremlins franchise began with the 1984 film Gremlins, directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg. The story follows a young man, Billy Peltzer, who receives a mysterious creature known as a Mogwai (Gizmo) as a Christmas gift. Billy is given strict rules to follow when caring for the Mogwai, but when those rules are broken, chaos ensues as Gizmo spawns mischievous and violent creatures called Gremlins. The film’s blend of horror, comedy, and holiday cheer made it a cult classic. The sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), takes a more satirical approach. The franchise has since expanded into animated series, video games, and merchandise, with an animated prequel series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (2023) continuing to build the lore.