The Leprechaun horror franchise is getting a reboot.
As broken by The Hollywood Reporter, Felipe Vargas -- director of the award-winning short film Milk Teeth -- is attached to helm a new Leprechaun movie for Lionsgate. The film is written by Mike Van Waes, who previously worked on Disney's upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch remake. Prolific horror producer Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment is attached to produce alongside Miri Yoon. Lionsgate executives Meredith Wieck and Jon Humphrey will oversee the project.
THR describes the next Leprechaun feature as a "fresh start," with the studio looking to "[reimagine] the horror title for a new generation of moviegoers." Notably, original Leprechaun star Warwick Davis is not expected to reprise the eponymous role in the reboot. "Thirty years after its debut, this franchise still casts a spell, and we're thrilled to be bringing it back with a new vision," Lionsgate exec Erin Westerman said in a statement. "Roy and Miri are two of our most trusted producers, especially with this genre, and we're excited by Felipe's vision for the film as a director. In his hands, this movie should be very scary and a ton of fun."
The History of the Leprechaun Franchise
An infamous series of slasher films centering on a murderous leprechaun, Leprechaun actually holds the distinction of being Lionsgate's longest-running franchise. Written and directed by Mark Jones, the original Leprechaun released in theaters in 1993 from the now-defunct Trimark Pictures. The comedy horror film starred aforementioned Willow and Star Wars alum Davis as the titular villain. It also featured a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston in her first credited movie role.
Despite being poorly received by critics at the time, 1993's Leprechaun was a relative commercial success, grossing $8.6 million domestically against a budget of $1 million. In turn, Leprechaun 2 hit the big screen in 1994, with Davis reprising the title role for the first of what would be several sequels. However, Leprechaun 2 was unable to match the box office success of its predecessor, causing the franchise to go direct-to-video starting with 1995's Leprechaun 3.
Trimark injected sci-fi into the comedy horror franchise with the release of 1997's Leprechaun 4: In Space. Then, in 2000, Davis starred opposite rapper/actor Ice-T in Leprechaun in the Hood. This would be the final Leprechaun film to be distributed by Trimark, which was folded into Lionsgate not long after. The first entry in the franchise to be distributed by Lionsgate itself was the 2003 standalone sequel Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, which marked Davis' final performance as the Leprechaun.
The franchise laid dormant for a decade before Lionsgate teamed with WWE Studios for the 2014 film Leprechaun: Origins, which saw former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Dylan "Hornswoggle" Postl take over the role of the Leprechaun. Origins was the first Leprechaun movie to hit the silver screen since 1994. The film received a limited theatrical release in August 2014, followed by a video-on-demand release later that same month and a DVD/Blu-ray release the following month. The film largely eschewed the Leprechaun franchise's trademark humor in favor of a more traditional horror approach.
The eighth and most recent entry in the Leprechaun film series was the 2018 release Leprechaun Returns. Billed as direct sequel to the 1993 original, the film again recast the lead villainous role, with Linden Porco playing the Leprechaun this time around. Leprechaun Returns released on VOD in December 2018 before debuting on the television channel Syfy -- which co-produced the film -- in March 2019. In 2022, it was reported that Lionsgate was "actively seeking out pitches" for another installment.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter