Young Gizmo will be the star of new 'Gremlins' animated prequel series

While a reboot or sequel to 80s horror classic Gremlins has been in the pipeline for years, a new animated series looks set to beat it to the finish line.

WarnerMedia has announced its plans to make an animated prequel series called Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, which will air on its new streaming service.

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The show, which will comprise 10 episodes, will explore how Mr Wing, the elderly owner of the curious antique shop from the first movie, came to find the young Gremlin called Gizmo in Shanghai in the 1920s.

According to Entertainment Weekly, he will then embark upon adventures across China with Gizmo and a young thief called Elle, encountering monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore.

They will, of course, also encounter evil Gremlins, which mogwai are transformed into if they're fed after midnight or come into contact with water.

The show will be penned by Tz Chun, one of the writers on Batman TV spin-off Gotham, and should appear on Warner's streaming service once it launches in 2020.

Director Joe Dante made the original movie back in 1984, starring Zach Gilligan and Phoebe Cates, with America's Got Talent judge Howie Mandel famously voicing Gizmo.

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It spawned a less successful sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, in 1990, and while it was a box office disaster, it did manage to rope in horror legend Christopher Lee to give it additional gravitas.

Chris Columbus, the veteran Hollywood director and producer who wrote the first movie, said as recently as last year that a movie reboot is still on the cards, and that his company 1492 Pictures, will make it.

“It will almost definitely be a reboot,” he told Metro.