Well, now here’s something I had entirely forgotten about. In the grand Hollywood tradition of rebooting everything that has been made in the past twenty years, it’s somehow no surprise that they hit upon the “beloved” Leprechaun franchise as a potential straight-to-VOD pot o’gold. That’s what WWE Studios are banking on with Leprechaun: Origins, the “serious” reboot that will have you checking your box of Lucky Charms very carefully.
Comic-Con being the place for these things, WWE revealed the look of the Leprechaun at its recent panel. The little dude is looking a tad the worse for wear since the days of Warwick Davis in creepy make-up. Wrestler-turned-actor Dylan Postl (better known to WWE fans as “Hornswoggle”) appears to be channeling a mini-orc in his portrayal of the character who terrorizes two young couples backpacking through Ireland. This is not your grandmother’s Leprechaun.
In addition to a rather creepy image for the film, we also have a short clip featuring the Leprechaun and one of his potential victims (via EW). It’s a bit dark, with a lot of jiggling camera that is contemporary cinematic shorthand for “fear.” While the clip does its best to drum up some proper scares, we’re still left with the fact that it’s a leprechaun menacing our fair damsel-in-distress. This is going to be a hard one to take seriously.
Leprechaun: Origins will premiere on VOD on August 26, and comes to DVD and Blu-ray on September 30. September will also see the release of the full boxed set of Leprechaun films, including this one.
So if you haven’t experienced the glory of the original franchise, and desperately need to reignite your cinematic imagination with Leprechaun: In The Hood, mark September 30 on your calendar. Until then, you can watch the clip and check out the image from Leprechaun: Origins below.
