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Leprechaun vs. Candyman?! Seven Planned ‘Leprechaun’ Movies That Never Happened

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The Leprechaun franchise is a fascinating oddity of a series. While Friday the 13th, Child’s Play, Halloween and the rest have all had their weird twists and turns, none of them have taken so many weird turns with such regularity as this one. It’s a bizarre series because, really, it isn’t a series in any way, shape or form. If anything, it’s an anthology.

Before now, with the recent release of Leprechaun Returns, there had previously been no direct sequels. Each one had only the unifying factor of Warwick Davis as the titular villain—with the exception of Leprechaun: Origins, of course—but none of them have any continuity from one to the next. Leprechaun Back 2 Tha Hood isn’t even a sequel to Leprechaun In the Hood. Yet, because of this, it’s one of the most creatively freeing independent horror series ever. All it takes to make a Leprechaun flick is to think of a setting or scenario that would be funnier if the Leprechaun were added to it, and (budget permitting) go from there.

Leprechaun: Origins stretched the loose confines of the franchise even further by removing the character played by Warwick Davis, the one thing present throughout each entry, and dropping the comedic approach in favor of a gritty, intentionally humorless and wholeheartedly serious take on the concept of the Leprechaun. Because of that, in addition to being the first direct sequel in the franchise ever, Leprechaun Returns is also the first “true” Leprechaun movie since 2003.

But, as luck would have it, for each tongue-in-cheek, cartoonish and pun-fueled Leprechaun movie we have, there’s another we don’t. There have been several attempts to take the franchise in new directions over the years that are still unseen to this day. These projects range from the expected “Leprechaun in X Scenario” movies to weird and inventive ideas that were only ever half formed and even crossover films with other iconic, but affordable horror characters.

It’s hard to know exactly what any of these movies would look like, but that’s precisely what makes them interesting. Each of these seven ideas are completely different from one another. Leprechaun is a series that’s at its best when it leans into its inherent goofiness and it’s easy to imagine many of these unmade projects would have adhered to that golden rule.


Leprechaun in the White House

Leprechaun : Credit Artistan/Lionsgate

When Brian Trenchard-Smith’s Leprechaun 3 was released, it was the most successful straight-to-video horror film of 1995 and it remains a fan-favorite even now. Because of that, he went right on to direct Leprechaun 4: In Space as well. Despite that one-two punch, Trenchard-Smith never directed another Leprechaun entry, though it was not for lack of trying. He did have a pitch for Leprechaun 5, as it turned out, and that idea would have seen the Leprechaun finding his way into the White House. As the director has noted, his version would have seen the little imp infiltrating an oafish but well-meaning first family. This was, after all, the Clinton era and Trenchard-Smith was a fan of the president at the time.

While the timing was far from as perfect a chance for satire as it would have been during the Bush years or, say, now, Leprechaun in the White House had a lot of potential just based on the concept alone. Unfortunately, Trimark thought it was “too out there,” which is pretty flabbergasting considering that this was coming right on the heels of the space movie. This isn’t the only horror franchise that tried to invade the White House, either, as Stuart Gordon also attempted to bring in Herbert West to reanimate the president in House of Re-Animator, which also unfortunately never happened.


Candyman vs. Leprechaun

Candyman is one of the best horror films of the 1990s. It might even be the best. Leprechaun, for all of its charms, is not. Other than supernatural central characters with vaguely defined powers, these two franchises have nothing to do with one another. They’re completely different on a tonal and stylistic level. It seems absurd and impossible that this crossover would actually have ever been considered. But it was, at least briefly. Tony Todd has famously said that, in the slow period after Candyman 3 that saw us bereft of any Candyman film until the upcoming reboot, the studio pitched him on the idea of a crossover with the Leprechaun franchise as this was on the heels of Freddy vs. Jason and they happened to own both characters. But he immediately turned down the idea.

Obviously, there are a few things that have to be considered in this head-scratching matchup. First and foremost, what would the Candyman want with the Leprechaun’s gold? Would whoever stole the gold be somehow related to Candyman, as that was who the Candyman targeted in both of his sequels? What about the height difference? Tony Todd isn’t just a man of average height, he’s a tall, tall man. Considering the budget this would likely have been produced for, it’s hard to imagine that it would have made fans of either franchise happy.


Leprechaun in the Old West

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This idea was frankly genius and I’m always going to be a little bit bummed that it never came to fruition. After In the Hood and Back 2 Tha Hood, a few years passed before there was any serious talk of another Leprechaun movie. When the idea finally came, it came from none other than Darren Lynn Bousman, who was just coming off the massive success of Saw II, III and IV at the time. The idea was to do a period piece, taking the Leprechaun back to the Old West in the days of the California Gold Rush.

It’s so simple and yet it’s so obvious. It’s still amazing that nobody else ever jumped on this, even after Bousman. Maybe if Returns reignites the franchise (and I hope it will) we’ll see another crack at this. The idea of the Leprechaun taking on old-timey gold miners is too good to go to waste. In terms of a creator coming off a huge success to tackle an oddball franchise, this feels very much like the “S. Craig Zahler is writing a Puppet Master movie” of its day… only that one actually wound up happening.


Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun Pitch

Leprechaun : Credit Artistan/Lionsgate

For many, it was bittersweet going into the new Leprechaun without Warwick Davis, as he has defined the role for so many years. There was a time when he was completely invested in the character, even after landing huge gigs like the Harry Potter films. After Back 2 Tha Hood, he had his own ideas for where the franchise should head, at one point noting that he wanted to finally be introduced to the Leprechaun’s entire family, including a wife, children, parents, etc. If it sounds like Eddie Murphy’s schtick in The Nutty Professor, well, that appears to be entirely the point.

It would have admittedly been hilarious to be introduced to the extended Leprechaun clan à la The Klumps, especially with Davis portraying each character himself. This would also have shed some new light on Leprechaun 2, which saw the Lep attempt to claim an unwilling bride, if he’d been neglecting to mention the fact that he was already married the whole time.


Leprechaun vs. Wishmaster

It’s much harder to say if this was ever actually in as remotely serious consideration as Candyman vs. Leprechaun. This idea first spread after an extremely well cut trailer started circulating the web, a fan trailer using clips from both franchises, which is commonplace and not usually an indicator that anything official might actually be happening. But there were a lot of rumors at the time that someone had cut the trailer to pitch as a sizzle reel to Lionsgate. The trailer even got spotlighted on Fangoria’s website and Ain’t It Cool News at the time.

The thing that gives the slightest bit of credibility to the idea is the fact that both franchises were under the same umbrella and that they had clearly wanted to try and cross over the Leprechaun with other properties given the attempt at Candyman. While that idea didn’t make any sense, Leprechaun vs. Wishmaster could honestly have worked. Both series had similar tones and styles, and cost about the same to make. A crossover between the two could have actually had potential to be, at the very least, an entertaining watch.


Leprechaun: Origins 2

Like most horror reboots, Leprechaun: Origins was planned to be the launching point for a whole new franchise. And, like most horror reboots, it wasn’t. Even now, most rebooted horror series have at best spawned one follow-up before simply being rebooted again. Both Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre did this. But when WWE films picked up the rights to Leprechaun, they wanted to take it seriously, both in terms of handling the property and in terms of their approach to the story. Most fans considered the latter idea to be a mistake. While there’s something interesting in the idea of the folkloric Leprechaun rather than the stereotypical one, this is a concept that needs a degree of humor in order to work.

The very intentional decision to strip what had always been a comedy-horror series of all its comedy in favor of doubling down on grit and intensity did not prove to be a hit. Even though newcomer Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl was barely glimpsed and had no lines in the feature, he expressed serious interest in reprising the role for future sequels had they actually wound up happening. They never did.


Vamprechaun

Leprechaun

Alright, this isn’t technically a Leprechaun movie but it might as well have been and definitely earns its spot on this list, considering that it’s a movie about a killer Leprechaun from the original feature’s writer/director Mark Jones, with the intention of Warwick Davis starring in the title role. It wouldn’t have had anything to do with previous Leprechaun movies, but again, they’d never had anything to do with each other in the first place. The central conceit is brutally simple and exactly what you get from the title: it’s about a Leprechaun that is also a vampire. The idea of Davis basically playing the same character he’d done six times before, but this time in a tuxedo and cape and drinking the blood of his victims between limericks, just sounds so entirely watchable. It’s a shame that this one never came to fruition.

To be fair, though, it came closer than anything else on this list. Jones was dead set on making Vamprechaun a reality and checked with the attorney he had hired for the project, who also helped him raise the funding for the film, to make sure there would be no legal troubles from the owners of the Leprechaun franchise. This all stopped dead when Jones then sued the man as, according to Jones, he turned out not to be a real attorney.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on December 11, 2018.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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