Gremlins actor Zach Galligan revealed that he's never met Howie Mandel, who voiced the character of Gizmo in both Gremlins films.
"The strangest, most interesting, trivia thing about Gremlins is that, to this day, even though I am hugely associated with Gizmo, I have never met, nor have I ever spoken to, Howie Mandel once in my entire life," Galligan told EW . "It's baffling that our paths have never crossed."
Galligan added, "I know nothing about the man, he knows nothing about me, at least that I'm aware of. At some point I'm hoping before I die, I'll meet him."
In addition to starring as Billy Peltzer in 1984's Gremlins and 1990's Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Galligan appeared in a Gremlins-themed Mountain Dew Zero Sugar commercial. In the spot, Galligan's Billy shares a bottle of Mountain Dew Zero Sugar with Gizmo, but warns him to be careful. Gizmo spills the soda on himself, causing Mogwai to spawn.
Mandel returned to voice Gizmo in the commercial. In addition to providing the voice of Gizmo, Mandel is known for providing the voice of Animal in Muppet Babies, Bobby Generic in Bobby's World and Jack in The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!
Also, Galligan revealed that filming the Mountain Dew commercial was emotional. "There was a time when we were shooting the commercial, and we had a little bit of a break, and the puppeteer is next to me and he's manipulating Gizmo's arms," he recalled. "I leaned over to Gizmo and I was like, 'How are you doing, buddy? It's good to see you.'"
While Galligan has expressed interest in returning to the Gremlins franchise for a third film, the Mogwai will return in HBO Max's animated series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a prequel series about Sam Wing -- the future owner of the shop where Billy finds Gizmo in Gremlins. While Season 1 has not yet aired, the series was greenlit for a second season.
Written and executive produced by Tse Chun and produced by Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register and Brendan Hay, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai stars Ming-Na Wen, B.D. Wong, James Hong, Matthew Rhys, Izaac Wang, A.J. LoCascio and Gabrielle Green. The series has yet to receive a premiere date.