Gremlins: The Rough Cut

In early 2026, director Joe Dante uncovered two long-rumored VHS tapes containing the original 1983 first assembly of Gremlins, an early rough cut thought to have been lost for more than forty years. Sent to the Gremlins Museum for preservation and restoration, the tapes revealed a raw, alternate version of the film containing over an hour of new footage, including deleted scenes, extended sequences, alternate pacing, unfinished audio, and character moments never meant to be seen by the public. What began as a quiet archival project quickly became one of the most remarkable discoveries in modern cult film history, offering a rare glimpse into the earliest shape of a beloved classic before it became the version audiences know today.

The Origin

In February 2026, during a conversation with creature creator Chris Walas, an old Gremlins mystery resurfaced. Chris mentioned that far more gags were designed and filmed for the Dorry’s Tavern sequence than ever appeared in the finished movie. In his recollection, as much as 20 minutes of material may have existed in the film’s first rough cut, an early assembly intended for director Joe Dante to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and what needed refinement. From there, scenes would be tightened, tones adjusted, and the film shaped into the version audiences ultimately saw.

Armed with that information, I asked Joe the question Gremlins fans have been quietly asking for decades: does the original Gremlins rough cut still exist?

Historically, Joe has been a bit reluctant to share this version. The theatrical cut is the film as he wants it seen: fully refined, with finalized sound design, creature voices, and a clear directorial voice. Rough cuts, by nature, are messy. They’re transitional, not meant for public viewing but in this case there is much to be learned about the history of the production and the characters in the film.

A few days later, Joe got back to me with an intriguing discovery: a VHS tape labeled “11/23/83 – Gremlins 1st Assembly.” Given the date and what Chris had described, it was immediately clear that this could be something extraordinary. Joe generously offered to send the tape up so I could oversee its digitization, and all that was left to do was wait...and hope.

A mere day or two passed and a FedEx box arrived. The contents were not one, but two tapes. Alongside the 1st Assembly was another VHS marked simply “Gremlins Outtakes.” Tucked inside was a handwritten note from Joe that read: “Not sure what’s on this one, but take a look.”

The tapes were quickly brought to one of Seattle’s top media services companies for supervised digitization. At 43 years old, they could have contained anything, or nothing at all. But with a bit of luck on our side, they turned out to be a treasure trove of long-lost Gremlins material.

The Gremlins Rough Cut presents the film in its earliest form: longer and alternative takes, deleted plot points, larger character arcs, raw camera audio with animatronic puppet sounds, and a movie which at times has a completely different feel. Creature sounds are largely temporary, far removed from the polished, iconic voices later provided by performers such as Howie Mandel, Frank Welker, and Mark Dodson. The rough cut total runtime clocks in at 2 hours and 54 minutes, over an hour longer than the final theatrical cut.

A mysterious second "Gremlins Outtakes" tape contains approximately 40 minutes of deleted and alternate material. Some of these moments overlap with the rough cut, while others are entirely unique sequences written and filmed but cut before the assembly stage. Scenes long rumored to exist such as Barney knocking over Mrs. Deagle's snowman and a full mogwai walking shot are confirmed here for the first time.

Creation of the Gremlins Screening Cut

While the rough cut is historically significant, it is unmistakably a working assembly and in VHS level quality. Most of it is solely unmodified dialog audio paired with extremely rough temporary creature audio— often little more than high-pitched squeals bearing little resemblance to the finalized performances. Other stretches play in near silence, broken only by the hum of the VHS tape itself. It is a fascinating document, but not an easy nearly three-hour watch for an audience.

For that reason, the original rough cut is being preserved as a standalone archival artifact and separately, I’ve been compiling what I’m calling the “Screening Cut.”

This version maintains the structure of the 1983 assembly, but replaces placeholder creature sounds with the finalized performances and carefully reintroduces select Jerry Goldsmith score cues to support the expanded runtime.

In more than a handful of instances, entire scenes existed with little to no production audio beyond tape noise, so appropriate foley and ambient sound cues have been added where necessary to ensure the film plays cohesively from start to finish.

The second VHS, labeled “Gremlins Outtakes,” also contains scenes removed prior to the rough cut’s assembly. These sequences have been reinserted to present the most complete version of the early narrative.

As an Avid TV editor for a decade in a previous chapter of my life, projects like this are exactly what I used to dream about. It’s incredibly rewarding to put these skills to use for something truly meaningful. I also have a talented team lined up to help bring it across the finish line, including a professional audio mix with VHS hum removal, and final mastering. In the end, it will still look like VHS, but a really cleaned up version that should be a joy to watch.

The Secret Los Angeles Industry Screening

In April 2026, I traveled to Los Angeles to take part in a small, secret screening of the rough cut organized by Scott Glassgold of 1201 Films and hosted by Verve LA.

The audience, made up largely of contemporary horror directors, writers, and producers, was not told what they would be seeing. The only tease was that if they missed it, they would “regret it for the rest of their life.”

We were joined by director Joe Dante, who gave a warm and generous introduction before the screening (see quote below). He was clearly amused by the enthusiasm surrounding this long-unseen version, though he also made it clear that he still hopes audiences prefer the theatrical cut. For any filmmaker, showing an early assembly like this is a vulnerable thing. Many of these scenes were removed to better the final film, and presenting them decades later means letting the audience see their work unfiltered.

"So, I guess the definition of obsession, is Ian. (Laughter) You should keep in mind that this is indeed a rough cut. It's got grease pencil marks. It's got scene missing slugs. It's not a finished version of the movie. However, it does include most everything that we shot for the picture. Which expands a lot of the character arcs of some of the actors, who I regretfully had to cut short because the movie had to be, you know, fairly short. And there are a lot of scenes with Gremlins that don't quite work the way they're supposed to, and so we cut them out. Except, you'll see them now. (Laughter) So, it's kind of, it's an archival screening in a way. But, Ian has done an amazing job of trying to make it look like a finished movie. And I really enjoyed watching it, and was very impressed with Ian's work on this thing, and his obsessive need to finish it and to show it to people. So, hope you enjoy, but don't take this version of the movie home with you. Go out and get the real version. (Laughter)" -Director, Joe Dante

Also in attendance were Gremlins 3 writers Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky, Drew Hancock (Companion), Rob Savage (The Boogeyman), Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Novocaine), Brian Duffield (Whalefall), Akela Cooper (M3GAN), Guy Busick (Ready or Not), Atomic Monster producer Michael Clear, Adam Robitel (Escape Room), 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell, and others.

Zach Galligan Discusses Watching the Rough Cut



On April 28, 2026, Zach Galligan hosted an Instagram livestream where he discussed a range of topics, with much of the attention centered around his personal viewing of the Gremlins Rough Cut. Zach appeared highly impressed by what he saw, first giving a background on the project.

"At some point—I am not exactly sure how it transpired and you don't really need to know all of the details—Joe gave Ian all of the footage. Everything from the first Gremlins that was shot, including the deleted scenes, some extra stuff from the bar scene, and essentially everything that we had shot back in 1983."

"And he has gone back in and assembled it. It doesn't look perfect the way the finished movie does; it looks more like a rough cut. Every now and then, you will see a little sign that says "scene missing." Ian has painstakingly gone in, taken a lot of the Jerry Goldsmith music, and put it where he thinks it would belong. Some of the sound effects on the footage that wasn't used were what they call temp, or temporary sound effects, so they were bad. He came in and put in better sound effects, better Foley, and everything like that. Basically, what you have is a 2-hour and 50-minute version of Gremlins with everything put back in. If you do the math, it is close to an hour of new footage, which is a lot of new footage."

It appeared to be a deeply nostalgic experience for Zach, who repeatedly commented on how much more developed Billy feels in this version of the film.

"There are some extended bits in the department store that were cut where I really fight the Gremlin for a lot longer. I think my character comes off as more badass. My character comes off way better in the three-hour version than he does in the two-hour version. Although it is a three-hour version, so you do come out of it going, "That was long." It is long. But what you get from the three-hour version is a sense of spending three hours in Kingston Falls."

"Many scenes throughout the cut either run longer or include moments that were removed entirely from the theatrical version. Even Barney’s role feels noticeably larger. He gets more time on screen, more business with the actors, and more opportunities to show just how expressive and well-trained he was."

"The experience for me was really mind-boggling because there is stuff in this three-hour version that I literally have absolutely no memory of having shot. I am watching another version of me in there acting away, and I am just wondering, When did I do this? When did I shoot this? I have absolutely zero recollection of it."

Many thanks to Zach for his kind words. I truly believe audiences are going to love this version of Gremlins. While it is not a director’s cut or anything of that nature, it feels like a rare gift to revisit these characters we’ve loved for decades and spend even more time with them.

"What is really cool is that Ian has gone in, taken all of this footage, and put it together in a way that makes it feel like a real movie. It doesn't feel like just a bunch of deleted scenes strung together; it feels like a coherent, three-hour version of Gremlins. For fans of the movie, it is going to be a really special experience to see it. It is like seeing a completely different movie, but with the same characters and the same story that you love. I am really excited for people to see it, and I am really grateful to Ian for all the hard work he has put into it. It is a real labor of love, and it shows."

"It is like finding a lost treasure—a completely different version of a movie that you thought you knew inside and out. I am so incredibly proud of the work that he has done, and I am so glad that he is sharing it with the world because it is a piece of film history and it deserves to be seen."

New Scenes featuring the Cast



What becomes immediately apparent when watching this cut is how much more room the main characters are given to breathe. Nearly everyone feels more developed, with clearer arcs and roles in the community that add texture to Kingston Falls. Even supporting roles feel more connected to the town and more essential to the larger story.

Billy’s role is also expanded right from the beginning of the film. In an extended opening stretch, we see him and Barney moving through Kingston Falls on the way from his home to his job at the bank. Along the way, he encounters the priest sending out Christmas cards, Pete asking for relationship advice, and Mrs. Deagle, whose cat he saves from nearly being run over. The sequence plays almost like a guided tour of the town, introducing both the setting and the web of people Billy interacts with every day.

Mrs. Deagle’s screen time is significantly expanded, making her iron grip over Kingston Falls much more apparent. The rough cut gives a stronger sense of just how much power she holds over the community, and why so many people fear or resent her.

Gerald also clearly had a much larger intended role in the film, functioning almost as a constant antagonist to Billy. At the bank, he becomes a recurring reminder of the life Billy could be pursuing: more ambitious, more polished, and more focused on climbing the corporate ladder than working as a teller while trying to keep his artistic dreams alive. He also has an ongoing joke about Billy wearing a clip-on tie which carries throughout the movie.

New Scenes featuring Mogwai

There are only a few new pivotal moments once the mogwai enter the film, but to me, they may be some of the real showstoppers of the rough cut.

The first comes not long after the new mogwai are born. At night, inside the Peltzer parents’ bedroom, the camera pans over as they sleep and reveals Stripe creeping down the hallway. It is a full-body shot of him walking, something we never really see elsewhere in the film. As he makes his way through the house, he is suddenly startled by a farting Rand Peltzer which might be the funniest and most unexpected moment in the entire film. Stripe adjusts his ears before continuing his night time exploration.

The other major addition expands on a scene only alluded to in the theatrical cut: Barney being tied up outside by the mogwai at night. In this version, we see much more of how that happens. Stripe commands the other mogwai to head downstairs, and they bounce down the steps curled up into little balls. He then spits at Barney, takes off, and lures him into chasing after them. Barney comes flying down the stairs after Stripe, and outside in the snow, we see him barking at the group of mogwai as they squeal with delight.

New Scenes featuring Gremlins

New and slightly altered gremlin scenes are quite plentiful in this version of the film.

What stands out most is the rough cut’s more violent tone, especially in Mr. Hanson’s death and the kitchen showdown with Mrs. Peltzer. This version includes the long-rumored extended version of Hanson’s death, including the later toned-down moment where Billy finds him with needles protruding from all over his body.

The kitchen sequence is also more graphic. It includes a close-up of the gremlin Mrs. Peltzer stabs to death, holding the knife in his stomach while delivering a brutal, gurgling death. The microwave gag also plays longer, with a more drawn-out and visually graphic view of the gremlin inside as he cooks to perfection before exploding.

Later, inside Dorry’s Tavern, the rough cut includes additional gremlin gags that expand the scene considerably. Many of the familiar character voices are also different here, making this sequence especially interesting since it appears to be the only part of the rough cut with more developed sound design.

The movie theater sequence also features more gremlin footage, including several additional close-ups. One especially fun addition is a quick wide shot of a gremlin walking back from the candy bar into the theater, only to be knocked down when another gremlin opens the door.

Inside the Montgomery Ward department store, there are a few additional moments with Stripe as Billy chases him, including an extra shot of Stripe riding his tricycle.

Where and When Can I See This?

As a Warner Brothers/Amblin property, I’m not able to distribute it publicly, nor is it really mine to give out. My hope is that we can host a number of screenings where people can experience this together for the first time. I also think Warner Bros. Archives could consider it as a standalone release or potentially include it in a future Blu-ray set with Gremlins 3 around the corner. This rough cut is without question worthy of all these options and seeing it will be an extremely emotional experience for many Gremlin fans, as it was for me. I'm hoping to also get permission to do fan screenings in the future, so please stay tuned if that comes to fruition.

Special thank you to Joe Dante for his incredible generosity on this project.