Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai: Joe Dante Reveals Why Howie Mandel Doesn't Voice Gizmo

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai creator Joe Dante revealed why Howie Mandel didn't return for the animated series. Some people may have been expecting the actor to pop up in some capacity. But, no dice. Brendan Hay and Tze Chun also spoke to our Chris Killian about the show too. Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai draws so heavily on the popular entities in the series. So, its kind of a bummer that Mandel isn't around. There's still fun to be had over on Max anyways. Check out what the creative team had to say.

"I don't think Howie wanted to do it. I think it was been there, done that. I think for him… Howie, you so of a…" he laughed. "No, I'm just playing. I do love me some Howie Mandel though. Uh, big fan of Little Monsters back in the day too."

Lots of Familiar Faces On Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai

Zach Galligan also talked to Comicbook.com about the revival effort. The rest of the Gremlins cast was along for the ride at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. In our studio, the actor talked about getting back into the swing of this franchise. The fans were surprised to have him back and he's delighted to play a role in this..

"It was sudden and kind of shocking and amazing and super fun. I happened to get the Mountain Dew commercial and the Secrets of the Mogwai gig the same week," Galligan told us in San Diego last year. "So after 30 years of nothing, you have these two amazing gigs and just a new creative team and a new experience. I can't really say too much about what I'm doing in the show, but it's fun, it's kind of unexpected, it's different, and I think people are really gonna dig it."

Max has a fresh synopsis for the brand new animated series: "A period piece set in 1920s Shanghai, the series reveals how a 10-year-old Sam Wing -- who becomes the future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie -- met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. They strike up a lifelong friendship as Wing attempts to return Gizmo to his family, encountering and sometimes battling colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. Meanwhile, the two and street thief Elle are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins." 

Do you think that Mandel will return? Let us know in the comments down below!