Gremlins was almost a completely different movie from the one we’ve all come to know. For one, several other actors read for the role of Billy, including Kevin Bacon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Ralph Macchio. According to producer Michael Finnell, when Zach Galligan initially walked in, they thought he was just another “pretty boy.” His audition ended up being “very touching,” and his chemistry with co-star Phoebe Cates during his second audition sealed the deal for him once executive producer Steven Spielberg saw it.
Then there was the matter of the R-rated script Chris Columbus submitted initially. Several violent scenes were scrapped once they decided to go with something more family-friendly. Take Billy’s mother’s death, for example. Columbus told Vanity Fair in 2024 that at one point in the story, “Billy ran into the foyer of his house, and his mom’s head came rolling down the stairs.”
The family dog, Barney, didn’t make it out alive in this version, either. He didn’t just get wrapped up in Christmas lights as he did in the final movie, Columbus said. “He was actually hung up by his neck and died. We killed the dog!” He was also eaten by the gremlins afterward. Later on in the script, the gremlins made their way to a McDonald’s and ate everyone inside, leaving the food untouched.
Spielberg encouraged Columbus to tone down the film to broaden its appeal. Columbus was still new to the business and in no position to tell Spielberg he was wrong. In the long run, he felt it was the right decision to take out the violence. One thing Spielberg helped him fight for, however, was the scene in which Cates’s character, Kate, tells the story of her father’s death after falling down a chimney. The studio didn’t like it, but with Spielberg’s support, they were able to keep it in.
As of January 2025, Columbus was said to be working on a script for a third Gremlins film, so maybe he’ll get to use some of those old ideas after all.
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