The Gremlins Have Finally Returned, But Not How We All Hoped

As of late, 1980s nostalgia has once again been experiencing one of its periodical moments in the limelight. From a recent 1980s-themed episode of Disney+'s WandaVision to the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife and the enduring hype around Stranger Things, it seems that the decade is a well that the entertainment industry returns to time and time again. And why wouldn't it? The generation of big appetites and even bigger hair is a gift that keeps on giving, and likely will for the foreseeable future. After all, there are tons of iconic '80s movies just waiting for a remake.

One particular 1980s franchise that seems fit for a revisit is Gremlins – the classic, slightly messed-up Christmas tale about cute, furry critters that turn into mischievous reptilian monsters if you feed them after midnight. Well, here's some good news for everyone who's ached to revisit this universe of pint-sized destruction beasts: The Gremlins have finally returned. However, it isn't exactly in the way we all hoped they would.

An appropriately aged Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and the seemingly ageless Mogwai Gizmo just returned ... in an advertisement for Mountain Dew Zero Sugar. 

The commercial shows the pair sitting on a couch, with Gizmo  coveting the Mountain Dew bottle Billy is sipping from. Billy decides to give his little friend a taste, thus unfortunately neglecting the second rule of Mogwai-keeping: Do not let it come in contact with water. The rule, it turns out, very much applies to Mountain Dew, as Gizmo spills the contents of the bottle over himself. The next thing you know, a brand-new batch of Mogwais is popping from the poor critter. 

The ad ends when Billy's daughter walks in the room with her pet Mogwai — a double-mohawked version of the first movie's villain, Stripe. They both give a truly magnificent eye roll as they survey the scene, implying that this is far from the first time they've witnessed this happen.

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar's tagline is, "As good as the original, maybe even better?" — which handily refers to both the sugar-free drink and the ad's decision to revisit the 1980s classic. While the jury is out whether a 30-second advertisement could even hope to match up to one of the most iconic 1980s movies — or even its sequel — it is pretty cool to see that the world hasn't forgotten Gremlins. And hey — with Zach Galligan clearly happy to return in the Gremlins universe and Gizmo as charming as ever, this does, at the very least, give hope that we might one day see a Gremlins 3.