Leprechaun is one of the most iconic horror franchises ever made. It all began in 1993 with the original from Mark Jones, which starred Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston. This led to numerous other installments of the series, including an outing in space in 1997.
As with many movies from the decade, the makeup and visuals now look outdated, and it would be the perfect option for a CGI reboot. Spiral director Darren Lynn Bousman has expressed a keen interest in modernizing the franchise, and there’s a good chance this could come to pass.
Rebooting the Franchise
Bousman made his name as a horror director when he took over the Saw franchise and made the second, third, and fourth entries in the gory series. Most recently, he has turned his attention to creating a spinoff to the successful franchise with Spiral in 2021. The new offering takes the story in a new direction and focuses on a Jigsaw copycat killer.
When promoting the title starring Chris Rock as a Detective Zeke Banks, Bousman confessed that he would be keen on rebooting the Leprechaun franchise if his Spiral movie turned out to be successful. It seems that Bousman has been interested in the Leprechaun for some time, and even Tweeted about it.
So, @Lionsgate… if Spiral is a success, can we talk about finally letting me have the Leprachaun franchise and trying a little something something with it? Just saying?! (For the last ten years). Love you!
— Darren_Bousman (@darren_bousman) March 17, 2021
Leprechaun Franchise Has Benefited from Popularity of Irish Themes
One of the reasons why the Leprechaun franchise managed to endure and spawn seven sequels was down to the familiarity and popularity of Irish themes in entertainment. Some of the concepts in comedy horror movies are notoriously related to Ireland. These include the shamrock that characters in Leprechaun can use to repel the killer, and the pot of gold that Dan O’Grady stole in the first picture to kick off the events that followed.
These themes have been used in other genres to good effect over the years, and they can often be found in the gaming industry. Job the Leprechaun from Herrero Games, for instance, featured all the classic Irish iconography like pots of gold, rainbows, and shamrocks. Another iconic Irish-themed game that has been around for years is Rainbow Riches. The title from Barcrest has existed for decades, and still manages to allure players. It has most recently been transformed into an online slot with new features such as Rainbow Riches free spins and a 500x prize pot.
Could this Concept Be Better Suited to Television?
With a vast number of Leprechaun films already in existence, there is an argument to suggest that the story would be better adapted as a television series. This has worked well with other horror films, with Netflix’s Scream series being a prime example. The streaming platform is also about to release a Texas Chainsaw Massacre series this month, so it could potentially be keen on exploring other classic horrors.
With many legendary horror films getting the reboot treatment, it only seems like a matter of time before the same thing happens with Leprechaun. Bousman is interested in rebooting it for the silver screen, but it would possibly be better suited to television.
