Key And Peele’s beloved Gremlins 2: The New Batch brainstorm sketch might be the show’s masterpiece. Key & Peele is sketch series hosted by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (Get Out) that debuted on Comedy Central in 2012 and became an instant hit. Like any sketch series, some skits worked better than others, but the duo had a high ratio of great ones. They created memorable characters like permanently angry teacher Mr. Garvey, the chatty Valets, and Peele’s tragic geek Wendell.
Fan favorite Key & Peele sketches include “East/West College Bowl” and the bizarre Shining parody “The Continental.” The pair later tried to transfer the show’s energy into comedy Keanu, where they play friends trying to rescue an insanely cute kitten. While the movie had some good laughs, it ultimately couldn’t stretch the joke out to feature-length. Key & Peele itself came to an end in 2015 after five seasons, though the duo would reunite to voice Ducky and Bucky in Toy Story 4.
Watching Key & Peele it’s obvious the comedians are massive film nerds, with the show offering pitch-perfect parodies on everything from action movie cliches to The Walking Dead. Arguably their greatest skit came with season 5, which offered an insight into the creation of Gremlins 2: The New Batch. This 1990 sequel continued the story of the original while also being something of a meta deconstruction of it, complete with cartoonish humor and constant breaking of the fourth wall.
Gremlins 2 came about because the studio spent years fruitlessly developing a sequel to the hit original, and finally offered director Joe Dante creative control if he agreed to return. This resulted in the madness seen in the final product, but Key & Peele’s Gremlins 2 skit tries to imagine what the writer’s room for it must have been like. It opens with Key’s Joe Dante speaking with his writers before Peele’s Star Magic Jackson, Jr. makes his entrance, explaining he’s a sequel doctor sent by the studio to oversee things.
When he feels the team are too dour he tries to spice things up by offering each writer the chance to come up with a new gremlin, with no idea being too ridiculous. The Key & Peele Gremlins 2 sketch finds Star working the room, fielding ideas like a bat gremlin that flies through the wall to create a perfect Batman logo or a brainy gremlin that wears glasses and sings “New York, New York.” He’s particularly impressed by the mere suggestion “cultural icon” Hulk Hogan (Rocky III) should appear and speak to the audience.
Star Magic Jackson, Jr. then exits the Gremlins 2 sketch stating all those crazy ideas will definitely be in the movie, which Dante angrily refutes; onscreen text reveals “All Of That Is In The Actual Movie.” The Key & Peele Gremlins 2 skit works because of Peele’s unrelenting commitment and the fact that no matter how insane the pitches get, EVERYTHING mentioned really does appear in the sequel. They even got Joe Dante’s distinct hairstyle right, with the filmmaker himself being a fan of the sketch.
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