The Leprechaun movie franchise, although there have been hiatuses, continues to spawn new installments. Now it’s been revealed that Lionsgate has tapped a new director to “reimagine” the Leprechaun franchise for another film.
This exciting news was shared via THR, where they noted the Milk Teeth director will shoot a script penned by Mike Van Waes. Furthermore, Roy Lee is slated to produce via his Vertigo Entertainment banner. His credits include such hits as Barbarian and both IT movies.
Of course, long-time fans of the franchise might be hoping for an appearance from Warwick Davis. He previously played the titular role in the original six installments which ran from 1993 to 2003. Though the trade notes that “Davis is not expected to reprise the role for the new iteration.” It’s worth noting that the last two installments, Leprechaun: Origins and Leprechaun Returns, already excluded any involvement from Davis.
Erin Westerman, president of production for Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, shared the following statement:
“Thirty years after its debut, this franchise still casts a spell, and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back with a new vision,” Westerman began. “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.”
Mark Jones directed the original film which kicked off the franchise. In addition to Warwick Davis, the cast included Jennifer Aniston in her film debut, along with Mark Holton, Ken Olandt, and Robert Hy Gorman.
Hopefully we’ll have more details on the project soon. Fans of the Leprechaun franchise are always eager to see a new installment. Of course, the last two films have had varying levels of success, so it’ll be nice to see if this new attempt will win more audiences over. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional news as we have it.