Reinventing Leprechaun with Felipe Vargas

On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day weekend, news breaks of a ninth film in the Leprechaun franchise coming from director Felipe Vargas (Milk Teeth).

Vargas discussed what he called a “reinvention” of the franchise with Splattercast and has a lot to say about the reboot, written by Mike Van Waes.

“I’m so honored to be on that project,” Vargas said. “It’s such a cool franchise. To me what makes the franchise so special is that it really is limitless. It doesn’t need to be grounded. It can just be gory, sexy, crazy. We’re still figuring out that tone, and the balance between horror and comedy. I would love for it to be scary as hell and also hilarious. I think we’re going back to a lot of the roots of Leprechaun in a lot of different ways, which I’m really excited about. But I think you also want to bring on a new audience. So it’s a really tricky one to figure out.”

Vargas includes that he is aiming for an “elevated vibe” with the new entry, which may scare some horror purists, but could be an interesting take on the series. He also stressed the importance of practical effects, which will make those same purists happy.

“I think the practical effects are so key,” Vargas adds. “Definitely want to bring that back in a big way.”

In a statement from Lionsgate’s President of Production, Erin Westerman: “Thirty years after its debut, this franchise still casts a spell, and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back with a new vision. 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.”

You can watch Splattercast’s full interview with Vargas below.