New ‘Leprechaun’ Movie in the Works Lionsgate (Exclusive)

Lionsgate is gearing up for a new quest for the pot of gold at the rainbow’s end.

Leprechaunthe longest-running franchise in Lionsgate history, will get a fresh start as the studio reinvents the horror title for a new generation of viewers.

Felipe Vargas, director of the award-winning short film Milk teethwill direct the new feature film which has a script by Mike Van Waes, who worked on the live-action Lillo & Stitch film which is now in production.

Roy Lee, one of the cornerstones of Hollywood horror whose credits include Barbarian and the It film, will produce under its Vertigo Entertainment banner. The company’s Miri Yoon will also produce.

Leprechaun hailed by low-budget home entertainment producer Trimark Pictures who made the first film in 1993 starring Warwick Davis as a shoe-shine leprechaun, protector of gold, and dispenser of vengeance. The film became known for starring Jennifer Aniston in her feature film debut, but it also became a surprise theatrical moneymaker, launching a franchise that spanned three decades. Davis played the cunning leprechaun in six films, but skipped the last two, 2014’s Folletto: Origins and 2018 The goblin returns. Davis is not expected to reprise the role for the new iteration.

The films became part of Lionsgate in 2000 when the company acquired Trimark, turning the on-paper low-budget cult series into something that predates homegrown franchises like Saw, The Hunger GamesAND John Wick. The movies have shown enduring popularity, and the Syfy Network runs a Leprechaun marathon every St. Patrick’s day.

“Thirty years after its debut, this franchise is still casting a spell and we are thrilled to bring it back with a new vision,” said Erin Westerman, president of production for the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate. “Roy and Miri are two of our most trusted producers, especially in this genre, and we are thrilled with Felipe’s vision for the film as a director. In his hands, this movie should be very scary and very funny.

Meredith Wieck and Jon Humphrey will oversee for Lionsgate.

Vargas is short Milk teeth told of a boy in an orphanage who sets off a tooth-sorting frenzy among his fellow orphans when he finds a creature that trades coins for teeth. Teeth was a success on the festival circuit, being awarded a DGA Student Film Award and an Imagen Award and winning an award at the Fantasia Film Festival.

Vargas is currently set to direct his first feature film Rosary in Colombia. He is represented by CAA, Magnolia Entertainment and Gang Tire.

Van Waes, who is also an author and wrote the novel Peevesis represented by CAA, Grandview and Goodman, Genow.