'Gremlins' Director Joe Dante Says He Won't Be Involved in Remake

There were three simple rules to owning the cuddly Mogwai: Keep him out of sunlight, don't give him water, and never feed him after midnight. But after his father buys him the strange creature -- named Gizmo (voiced by Howie Mandel) -- as a Christmas present, Billy (Zach Galligan) breaks two of the three rules, unleashing an explosion of gremlins in his town. Ultimately, the creatures' rampage is put to an end, and Gizmo is returning to his original owner, who claims the Western world is not yet ready to responsibly care for a Mogwai. The 1984 hit movie spawned a sequel six years later.

Dante believes Hollywood studios are playing it safe: "They remake pictures that people just didn't want to see remade."

Gremlins director Joe Dante said on Saturday that he will not be participating in a recently announced Gremlins reboot.

In an interview earlier this week, Gremlins’ original screenwriter Chris Columbus told MTV News that there is a new writer on board for the remake.

“I’ve seen what can happen when sequels actually work and you certainly can’t improve on the original, but you can have a different direction,” Columbus said. “So I was open to the idea and I think we have a good take on it.”

Dante was speaking at the Riviera Maya Film Festival this weekend after presenting his zom-com Burying the Ex, starring Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), Alexandra Daddario (True Detective) and Ashley Greene (Twilight).

During a news conference, Dante was asked if he would be involved in the Gremlins remake. “No, because I don’t own the project,” he said. “It’s owned by other people."

Dante believes Hollywood studios are playing it far too conservatively nowadays, as evidenced by all the remakes.

"They remake pictures that people just didn't want to see remade," Dante said. "Did anybody really want to see another RoboCop?"