Leprechaun Reboot Director Teases His Approach to Franchise

A new take on the Leprechaun franchise is on the way from director Felipe Vargas more than 30 years after the debut film and he recently teased how he wants to honor the legacy of the series with something "scary as hell and also hilarious." Since the franchise's debut, it has earned a total of eight installments, and while they are largely praised for the camp factor as opposed to their frightening components, Vargas seemingly wants to blend both to bring the character to a new generation in ways not quite seen before. The new Leprechaun doesn't yet have a release date.

"I'm so honored to be on that project. It's such a cool franchise. To me what makes the franchise so special is that it really is limitless. It doesn't need to be grounded. It can just be gory, sexy, crazy," Vargas shared with the Splattercast podcast. "We're still figuring out that tone ... And the balance between horror and comedy. I would love for it to be scary as hell and also hilarious. I think we're going back to a lot of the roots of Leprechaun in a lot of different ways, which I'm really excited about. But I think you also want to bring on a new audience. So it's a really tricky one to figure out."

The original film sees the supernatural leprechaun (Warwick Davis) seeking vengeance against a family he believes has stolen his pot of gold. The movie earned one sequel that landed in theaters in 1994, though the next four installments went the direct-to-video route. In 2014, Leprechaun: Origins attempted to revive the franchise as a more straightforward horror experience, though it failed to resonate with audiences, and 2018 saw the release of Leprechaun Returns, which served as a direct sequel to the original and also failed to revive the concept.

While the first six films maintained a relatively consistent tone, Vargas teased his film will be a bit of a "reinvention" and offer an "elevated" take on the concept. One consistency that fans can expect, however, is the film's approach to its more gruesome components.

"That's a part of my initial pitch. I think the practical effects are so key," Vargas confirmed. "Definitely want to bring that back in a big way."

Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming Leprechaun reboot.

Are you looking forward to the project? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!