The idea of shared cinematic universes has become commonplace due to Marvel Studios’ success. However, connecting films to the same universe wasn’t completely unheard of before Nick Fury recruited Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative. Instead of being part of an interconnected continuity, two films existing in the same universe was the purview of Easter eggs. That could mean a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, like E.T.’s appearance in the Galactic Senate in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It could also be a single line of dialogue, like the one that connected two iconic ’80s films: Gremlins and The Goonies.
The line connecting the two films is uttered in 1985’s The Goonies. It happens after Sloth frees himself and Chunk from captivity and Chunk calls the sheriff for help. Unfortunately for him, his reputation as a prankster proceeds him, and the sheriff doubts his story. When Chunk protests that he’s telling the truth, the sheriff recounts some of his prank calls, including one about “all those little creatures that multiply when you throw water on them.” This is a clear reference to how lovable Mogwai Gizmo spawned the anarchic creatures that terrorized Kingston Falls in 1984’s Gremlins.
This could mean that Gremlins exists as a film in The Goonies’ universe. Conversely, the fact that the sheriff doesn’t call Chunk out for ripping off the plot of a popular movie makes it just as likely that the events of Gremlins actually happened in the same universe as The Goonies, and Chunk was referencing that in his prank call.
Gremlins and The Goonies might seem like an odd fit, but they have multiple connections. The most obvious is that they are both Warner Bros.’s intellectual property. Both films are part of HBO Max’s film library, along with Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Gremlins also has a prequel animated series, Secrets of the Mogwai, in the works on HBO Max. Even though the show has yet to premiere, HBO has already ordered a second season. Their Warner Bros. ties also meant both franchises were represented in the Lego Dimensions video game.
The connections between Gremlins and The Goonies go beyond corporate ownership. They shared a production company in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. The Goonies is based on a story by Spielberg and the script was penned by Chris Columbus. Gremlins was a spec script also by Columbus that Spielberg purchased and hired Joe Dante to direct.
Columbus is a prolific screenwriter and director who has worked on everything from the Harry Potter series to Home Alone. The fact that he wrote both scripts easily explains how a Gremlins reference found its way into The Goonies. Columbus was referencing the movie that made his career, after a fumbling start with the teen sex comedy Reckless. The success of Gremlins led to Columbus writing The Goonies and Young Sherlock Holmes for Amblin.
While he hasn’t been involved with the attempts at a Goonies sequel, Columbus has been attached to Gremlins 3. He wrote what he called a “twisted and dark” script for the film, centered around the question of whether Gizmo should be killed. Columbus has said that it will be a reboot of the series and not a sequel to the fourth-wall-breaking Gremlins 2, which Columbus was not involved in.
Gremlins star Zack Galligan believes that Secrets of the Mogwai could lead to Gremlins 3. It’s unlikely that any of those Gremlins’ projects will include characters from The Goonies, but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that Sloth could make a guest appearance in a future Gremlins Cinematic Universe project.
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