Gremlins: The Wild Batch, akaGremlins: Secrets of the Mogwaiseason 2, continues to explore the story of Gizmo and the Mogwai decades before the events of the firstGremlinsmovie. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and withGremlinsdirector Joe Dante on as a consulting producer, the animated series is a fitting match for the tone and feeling of the originals, even as it ventures into bold and exciting new territory. While the series does delve into the lore of the Mogwai, it also brings in a menagerie of other mythical creatures, fleshing out its magical world.
At the heart of the story inGremlins: The Wild Batchare Sam Wing, a young version of the Mr. WingGremlinsfans know from the film, Elle, his streetwise companion, and, of course, Gizmo the Mogwai. TheGremlins: Secrets of the Mogwaivoice castreturns for season 2, with Izaac Wang voicing Sam, Gabrielle Nevah playing Elle, and A.J. LoCascio portraying Gizmo and the Gremlins. Sam, Elle, and Gizmo are given brand new challenges in season 2, starting with an unexpected trip from Shanghai to San Francisco.
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Screen Rantinterviewed Izaac Wang, Gabrielle Nevah, and A.J. LoCascio about their work onGremlins: The Wild Batch(also check outScreen Rant’sGremlins: The Wild BatchSan Diego Comic-Con 2024 interviewwith key cast members and show creators). Wang, Nevah, and LoCascio discussed what the new setting of San Francisco and the American West means for their characters, and what audiences can expect from them in terms of growth for season 2. They also reflected on family bonds and the surprise casting of their eventual co-star Simu Liu as Chang.
Izaac Wang Discusses Changing Along With Sam Wing For Gremlins: The Wild Batch
Season 2 Sam Has Become “More Adventurous And Rebellious”
Screen Rant: Izaac, in the first season we got to see Sam go through a lot of growth, and now that he’s in America, presumably he’s going to inch closer to the Mr. Wing that we know from the movieGremlins. Sam is still young, but how different did it feel to play the character this time around?
Izaac Wang: Not too different. The time between recording season one and season two felt like the time it would normally take between a recording session and then another recording session. It really felt like we recorded it back-to-back, but I think there was a year or two gap between when we actually filmed season one versus season two. During that time, I grew as a person. My voice got a little bit deeper, [though] not as deep as it is now. I kind of took that growing adolescence of me and put it into Sam’s character, who also kind of grew from season one to season two [and] became more outgoing, less shy, less timid, and more adventurous and rebellious.
How hard was it to navigate your voice changing as you’re doing this? Did you have to pretend like it didn’t, or could you lean into it?
Izaac Wang: Oh man. I remember that we had to retake some shots because either my voice kept cracking way too much or it would just go all the way down [in pitch] when I tried to get a little quieter. I think there were some scenes where they actually had to pitch my voice up. I really just had to keep my voice [in a higher pitch] the whole time, which was a struggle and I can’t even do it now.
Sam’s family was such an important part of his life in the first season. Obviously, you end up in America on your own adventure with these two, but can you say anything about how his relationship with his family progresses in this season?
Izaac Wang: I’d say that Sam’s family gets more used to the more adventurous side of Sam. In the beginning of the show, in season one, we can see how his parents are kind of controlling how his life is going to turn out in the future. But, in season two, he really wants to take his own life by the reins and really drill into the fact that he wants to be independent, and he wants to grow into someone else—someone bigger than who he is now. I think that the journey with his parents [is that they] have to get used to that and adapt to that version of Sam. [Sam is] getting to the point where he doesn’t want them to hold him back anymore, but they still want to have their baby back.
Gabrielle Nevah Talks Elle’s Emotional Journey In Season 2
Elle is “Still Fighting To Find A Place Where She Belongs”
Gabrielle, in the first season, Elle was kind of a loner and we kind of watched her find a version of family with Sam and Gizmo. The trailer shows that her family, or her mom, is involved this time around. What does that mean for her when she has kind of just found a place where she belongs at the end of the last season?
Gabrielle Nevah: I think that Elle, in season two, is still fighting to find a place where she belongs. With the family dynamic, Elle grew up in kind of a broken household. She was given to Green, as we know, in season one, and she had to kind of fight for her life every day. Now she’s found herself in an environment where she doesn’t have to do that, and it’s kind of like a genre switch. You’re like, “Whoa, hold on. We were just singing country, now we’re going to R&B. What’s happening?” So, it’s a huge adjustment for her.
Through season two she goes on a journey of vulnerability and she tries to come to terms with her past, which is also furthering her along with finding where she belongs. And I think that’s a really relatable topic for me, and for a lot of viewers. Sometimes, when we have a past that’s a little bit troubling or [in which] we experienced hardships, we push those things down. So, in season two, we’re allowing Elle to have the space to blossom and to show her scars and her pain, and she deals with that along with the Wing family.
A.J. LoCascio Breaks Down Gizmo’s Evil Outbursts
“We’ve Not Seen Any Other Mogwai Not Turn Into An Evil Mogwai”
A.J., Gizmo’s going through some stuff this season. He’s got the red eye thing going on. Can you talk about what is happening with him and what that meant for you as a voice actor bringing that to life?
A.J. LoCascio: We’ve not seen any other Mogwai not turn into an evil Mogwai. I think by their nature, they’re sort of meant to mess up and evolve into this other thing. So, as a Gremlin who has followed the rules, we’re seeing that sort of turmoil that [Gizmo] is going through. He’s followed the rules thus far and there’s this other side of him that’s coming out. It’s created this really funny dichotomy where he’s constantly sort of hulking out or glitching out, where that side of him comes out. It’s funny to watch the other characters deal with that as he creates chaos for them.
For me, as an actor getting to voice Gizmo, everything was pretty predictable. Now, getting to have him be a little more evil, I guess, has been really fun. He’s now getting to sort of fight the urge to go to the dark side, and that’s been a fun challenge.
Nevah Reflects On The Arrival Of Simu Liu As Chang
Gabrielle, we have Simu Liu coming in this season, and playing a new character that all three of your characters spend time with. Can you speak to what his impact on all of their lives is, and what they think of him?
Gabrielle Nevah: What’s cool about Simu Liu as Chang is that all three of us—or at least for me, but I feel like it was all three of us—had no idea that it was him voicing this character, because we don’t get to record together. But, when I was in the booth doing an ADR session, it’s just like, “Wow. This guy is so charming and so funny and witty.” And that’s kind of the dynamic between Chang and the three heroes—Sam looks up to Chang, Elle is like, “Whoa, bro. We met you in a prison. I know a con when I see one. You’re not about to come here and mess up my whole family dynamic that I just got.” Then, Gizmo, has his own thoughts too. He’s like, “I kind of like this guy.”
Chang really adds another layer to the cake that we’ve all kind of baked, and it’s an interesting new flavor. You get to see all the dynamics shift. Elle is kind of dealing with, “Huh. I was usually the one in charge, and now this guy’s in charge, and I don’t like that,” but over time, she warms up to him. I think it’s a really, really fun dynamic that I love that the writers added on.
How Would The Gremlins: The Wild Batch Handle Having Gremlin Traits?
“I’d Go Live In The Himalayas”
This one is for all of you. Say every time any of you touch water, it creates another one of you. What do you do? Do you drink when you’re thirsty? Do you shower? Do you wash your hands? How do you handle this?
Gabrielle Nevah: I always thought it would be cool to have a twin, but I don’t know how the rest of the world would feel about that. I feel like that would be a lot. So, I don’t know. I feel like I’d [use] baby wipes because it’s not really water. It’s wet, but it’s not water. I feel like the rule is water. So yeah, I’d be a baby wipe girl. They’d be my best friend.
Izaac Wang: What counts as water, you know?
A.J. LoCascio: I’d just be dirty. I’d just be some weird old garbage person. What do you do if, suddenly, there’s more of you? That would be really weird. But with the gremlins, they tend to be slightly different alterations. Like you, but blonde or [with] weird eyes or something. I don’t think I could deal with that. I’d just never touch water.
Izaac Wang: I’d go live in the Himalayas and just have an entire population of myself. If someone discovers me, I fight back. I’d need to keep cloning myself [until] I can find the super smart leader version of me, and then I’d just have an army of myself.
About Gremlins: The Wild Batch
Taking place one year after the events of season one, Gremlins: The Wild Batch follows Gizmo, Sam, and Elle as they travel from their home in Shanghai to San Francisco, bringing even more magic, mystery and Mogwai mayhem. Hot on the trail of a new brood of evil Mogwai, our heroes journey deep into the American West, coming up against new supernatural creatures and picking up a few mysterious characters along the way.
Check back for our interview with Ming-Na Wen and James Hong.
Gremlins
Cast
Gremlins is an animated television series that serves as a prequel to the classic 1984 movie Gremlins. Starring Izaac Wang as Sam Wing, the show explores Gizmo’s origins before the events of the first movie.
