Leprechaun 9 Is Coming From The Creator Of Milk Teeth
The long-running cinematic "Leprechaun" saga still has a little more gold left in the pot. The Hollywood Reporter has the news that Lionsgate is developing a ninth (!) "Leprechaun" installment, with a screenwriter and a director already on board.
The director is Felipe Vargas, who most recently directed the short film "Milk Teeth" and has a few other short films in horror to his credit. "Leprechaun 9" will be his first feature. The script has been written by Mike Van Waes, whose most notable credit is the live-action "Lilo & Stitch" remake currently in production.
Compensating somewhat in the experience department are producer Roy Lee and Miri Yoon, whose company Vertigo Entertainment is also behind such recent horror hits as "Barbarian" and the "It" films, as well as non-horror fare like "The LEGO Movie" and its assorted sequels.
If you're familiar with the "Leprechaun" movies, you probably have a rough idea of what to expect from the most recent reboot. But there's no clear indication yet whether it will lean toward the comedic elements of the original series or the later attempts at grittier, more serious horror.
Leprechaun 9 will come more than 30 years after the original
The original "Leprechaun" came out in 1993 and was a surprise smash hit, spawning several sequels (including "Leprechaun 4: In Space"), all starring Warwick Davis. Davis was absent from the two most recent stabs at a new "Leprechaun" series, "Leprechaun: Origins" and "Leprechaun Returns," and he is reported to be uninvolved in the upcoming ninth installment.
Erin Westerman is president of Lionsgate's Motion Picture Group, and in a press statement, she has this to say about the team being assembled to bring "Leprechaun" back to the screen: "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 said. "Roy [Lee] and Miri {Yoon] 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."
Hopefully, for fans eager to see another incarnation of the "Leprechaun" franchise on screen, the film's production will proceed quickly and a release date will be announced soon.