Here’s Why Warwick Davis Passed on ‘Leprechaun Returns’

The upcoming Leprechaun Returns serves as a direct sequel to the original 1993 film, though Linden Porco takes over the role from franchise regular Warwick Davis. As far as why Davis wasn’t interested in returning to the series, the actor claims he’s much less interested in the horror genre after becoming a father.

“You know what we did six Leprechaun films and around Halloween people always watch them and love them,” Davis shared with BANG Showbiz. “Horror is an interesting medium, I think it’s different when you have kids, you look at horror in a slightly different way. Since I finished the Leprechaun films I had kids and I see the world through their eyes and to be in a horror movie right now is probably not quite right, I will wait until my son turns 18 and then I’ll do some horror again.”

The original film developed a cult following due to its absurd combination of horror and humor, with Davis starring in five sequels in the franchise. Only the second film landed in theaters, with Davis’ next films heading straight to video.

By the time the franchise got to its third sequel, it took its ludicrousness into the stratosphere, delivering audiences Leprechaun 4: In Space. The film wasn’t the first ’90s horror franchise to take their terrors off the planet, with Hellraiser: Bloodline leaving Earth behind in 1996. The fifth and six films returned the creature to earth with Leprechaun in the Hood and Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood.

In 2014, the franchise earned itself the “gritty reboot” treatment with Leprechaun Origins. Davis was replaced by Dylan Postl, better known as the WWE persona Hornswoggle, who fans thought could help revive the series. Unfortunately, Origins took a different approach to the titular character, delivering a villain who was far more monstrous and didn’t have a single line of dialogue. Compared to the wisecracking character fans grew to love over the course of the franchise, Origins fell short of expectations for the series.

In Leprechaun Returns, the deadly, wisecracking Leprechaun is back in all his gory glory. When the sorority sisters of the Alpha Upsilon house decide to go green and use an old well as their water source, they unwittingly awaken a pint-sized, green-clad monster. The Leprechaun wants a pot of gold buried near the sorority house, but first, he must recover his powers with a killing spree—and only the girls of AU can stop him.

Leprechaun Returns hits VOD and Digital HD on December 11th.

Would you like to see Davis return to the franchise? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!