Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai releases new images revealing the prequel show's voice cast and main characters. Released in 1984, the original Gremlins movie follows Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, a young man who receives a small, furry creature, Gizmo the Mogwai (voiced by Howie Mandel), for Christmas, and his failure to follow the three rules of care cause a destructive army of Gremlins to wreak havoc on his small town. Gremlins was a massive critical and commercial success, leading to the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, and Gremlins 3 which has been in development for years.
In 2019, it was announced that the Gremlins franchise would be getting its own animated prequel on HBO Max called Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. Set in 1920s Shanghai, the series follows a 10-year-old Sam Wing (who eventually becomes the shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 film) as he first befriends the young Mogwai named Gizmo. The Gremlins prequel show's voice cast is confirmed to include Izaac Wang, Ming-Na Wen, B. D. Wong, James Hong, Matthew Rhys, A. J. Locascio, and Gabrielle Green.
Now, HBO Max has shared four new images introducing the prequel show's esteemed voice cast and their respective main characters. Leading the cast is Raya and the Last Dragon's Izaac Wang as the voice of a 10-year-old Sam, The Mandalorian's Ming-Na Wen as Sam's mother Fong, and Jurassic Park's BD Wong as Sam's father Hon. The images also highlight legendary actor James Hong (who just finally received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) as Grandpa, the free-spirited elder of the Wing family who has traveled the world and is well-versed in the power and secrets of the Mogwai. Check out the images below:
These images effectively introduce each member of the Wing family and the accomplished voice talent behind each character. Wang is the least experienced of the bunch, who first gained notability as a young actor for voicing Boun in Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon, while the other three are also known for a Disney movie, Mulan, in addition to many other voice roles. Wen voiced the titular character in the 1998 film, Wong provided the voice of Captain Li Shang, and Hong voiced Chi-Fu.
The supplementary information provided also hints to the conflict of the show, including the intra-family tension between Fong, a doctor of Chinese medicine, and Han, who are both skeptical of Grandpa's tales of magic and adventure, but at the center of the story is the naïve boy Sam who is thrown into a similar adventure as he tries to bring Gizmo back home. With these images highlighting the Wing family, future looks at Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai should introduce additional supporting characters, such as Sam's sidekick, and the main antagonist, a power-hungry industrialist who wishes to exploit Gremlins for his own benefit.
Source: HBO Max