Dust off your shillelaghs and lock up your pot of gold! Almost a decade after his last cinematic rampage, everyone’s favorite pint-sized, shoe-shining menace is officially creeping back to the big screen. Deadline reports that Lionsgate is developing a brand-new installment in the Leprechaun franchise. And they’ve enlisted some serious horror royalty to pen the script.
Genre Experts
Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the twisted minds behind Saw IV through Saw 3D and The Collector, have been tapped to write the upcoming film.
Producing the project under their Koulest Productions banner are long-time genre staple Oren Koules and his son, Miles Koules. The plot is currently buried deeper than a leprechaun’s hidden treasure. However, producer Oren Koules has teased big things for the comeback.
“After producing all the Saw films, and twenty-three wonderful years at Lionsgate, I’m thrilled to be working again with the Lionsgate team, Patrick and Marcus, and my son, Miles, on a terrifying new way into the rich world of Leprechaun.”
The Franchise History
The green-suited slasher first limped onto the scene in Mark Jones’s iconic 1993 horror-comedy. It launched a wild eight-movie saga featuring five sequels starring the legendary Warwick Davis. The franchise later ventured into full reboot territory with 2014’s Leprechaun: Origins (starring Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl) before swinging back to its original continuity with 2018’s Leprechaun Returns (with Linden Porco taking over the buckles).
The New Entry
Director Felipe Vargas had previously been attached to direct a separate pitch for Lionsgate a few years back. Still, that iteration ultimately withered away like a four-leaf clover in winter. With Melton and Dunstan holding the pen, expect a much darker, gore-soaked spin on the classic trickster.
Will the new film send him back to space, back to the hood, or somewhere entirely new? Stay tuned as Lionsgate digs up more details on the killer’s long-awaited return! In the meantime, you can find the entire franchise now streaming on Peacock.
