SDCC: ‘Gremlins: The Wild Batch’ Adds Simu Liu to Main Cast, Sets Premiere Date

At today’s Gremlins: The Wild Batch BATCH panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Max revealed a flurry of casting announcements for the second season of the hit animated prequel series, including news that Simu Liu will join the main cast, and John Glover — star of the Gremlins film sequel — will return to the franchise as a guest voice. The streamer also announced the follow-up to Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will premiere Thursday, October 3.

Taking place one year after the events of Season 1, 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.

Simu Liu will play the role of Chang, a handsome, impossibly charming bootlegger and son to one of San Francisco Chinatown’s most powerful and influential families. His various escapades have led him to spend quite a bit of time in Alcatraz, so much so that his family believes he’s dead. After a twist of fate brings him together with Sam, Elle and Gizmo, Chang will try to get back to Chinatown while also acting as the trio’s roguish guide to America.

John Glover is best known in Gremlins lore for playing the role of eccentric billionaire Daniel Clamp in the film sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. While few details were shared about the actor’s guest appearance in Season 2, executive producers Tze Chun and Brendan Hay hinted on the panel that audiences may get a peek into the Clamp family ancestry this season.

Also announced on today’s panel, Michael Paul Chan — another Amblin film alum who played Data’s father in The Goonies — will appear among this season’s all-star guest voice cast, featuring Ronny Chieng, Keith David, Will Forte, Kelly Hu and Jimmy O. Yang.

Gremlins: The Wild Batch stars Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio, Gabrielle Nevaeh, Simu Liu, and George Takei, among others. The series is produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation. Steven Spielberg serves as executive producer, along with Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, Presidents of Amblin Television, and Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. Tze Chun serves as showrunner and executive producer. Brendan Hay serves as executive producer with Dan Krall serving as supervising producer. Joe Dante serves as consulting producer.