I remember when LEPRECHAUN came out, though I wasn’t lucky enough to see it in theaters. Nope, I had to wait much later until after it was on VHS, but not after hearing all about it from my group of friends, and how incredibly funny it was. Mostly, the line “F*ck you, Lucky Charms!” was a line we used to throw around just about every day. But after beholding the masterpiece of LEPRECHAUN, I stuck around for part 2, 3, IN SPACE, IN THE HOOD, and BACK 2 THE HOOD, and have loved every single ridiculously awful / hilarious minute the franchise had to offer. Now there appears to be a reboot / remake in the works, and… I have some serious mixed feelings about it.
On the one hand, an origins story from Lionsgate and WWE has the potential to be pretty awesome. The news that dropped last week about LEPRECHAUN: ORIGINS getting a director (Zach Lipovsky) actually got me pretty excited about the whole thing. A reboot of the LEPRECHAUN series where the idea is to make a scary movie featuring a Leprechaun running around f*cking sh*t up, scaring the pants off of audiences everywhere, and making kids of all ages fear Saint Patrick’s Day. That would be awesome. A bonafide horror movie featuring Leprechaun, leaving the comedy, the jokes, and all the hokey shit at the door. That’s the kind of reboot I want to see.
So while I love the idea of what a new and improved LEPRECHAUN movie could be, I also live in reality, and know that a movie made by WWE will not be scary. Or awesome… but maybe? I love Warwick Davis in the Leprechaun role, so I’m not sure how “on board” I am with WWE star Hornswoggle (what kind of f*ckin’ name is that, anyway?) taking on the Leprechaun garb. Yes, he’s a “little person” but does that automatically qualify you to play Lubdon the Leprechaun. I guess it does. And seeing as I don’t have an alternate “little person” in mind for the role, I guess it works. But why not bring Warwick back? He’s under a ton of make-up, so it’s not like they can’t make him look younger, seeing as it’s an Origins movie. Oh, and why does it have to be the same Leprechaun? If they’re gonna reboot it, they should just revolve it around another Leprechaun, unless… Lebdon is the one and only Leprechaun out there, then I guess it makes sense…
WWE is known for wrestling, but let’s not forget they’re behind a couple of entertaining genre flicks over the last decade or so, including the underrated SEE NO EVIL and the epicly entertaining THE CONDEMNED. Will this be as good as either as those two flicks? I guess that all depends on Hornswoggle… because, let’s face it, he’s no f*ckin’ Steve Austin, so who knows if he has what it takes to carry a full-fledged movie like LEPRECHAUN: ORIGINS. My gut says no… but I could be wrong.
Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but I can get behind a LEPRECHAUN reboot… as long as it’s not a rehash of the same old goofy / jokey horror-comedy that the “original” LEPRECHAUN franchise was. If it’s gonna be the same old thing, why not just bring Warwick back and make a part 7? But if WWE is serious about rebooting the franchise, maybe they’re serious about making it a “serious” horror flick, making it the bonafide Leprechaun movie that will actually scare the pants off people and scar kids for life. That’s my dream… but dreams seldom come to reality, especially when a guy who calls himself Hornswoggle is set to play the Leprechaun in question, and a Wrestling studio is set to make it. Then again, maybe this Lipovsky chap has some serious directing chops, and can bust out something horrific for a whole new generation of Leprechaun fans to enjoy. I’m game for the reboot… but under serious reservations about how bad it could end up being.