Though the Leprechaun movies have never earned the favor of the critics, this decades-spanning horror-comedy franchise has still amassed an impressive following over the years, and it’s clear that the mischievous screen presence of Warwick Davis has a fair amount to do with it. With that in mind, perhaps there’s something a little misleading about the title of the upcoming Leprechaun Returns, in that Davis is no longer the psychotic star under all that makeup.
Speaking to Bang Showbiz, the actor reflected on his six-movie run in the series, and explained why fatherhood encouraged him to take a break from horror.
“You know what, we did six ‘Leprechaun’ films, and around Halloween people always watch them and love them,” Davis told the site. “Horror is an interesting medium. I think it’s different when you have kids; you look at horror in a slightly different way. Since I finished the ‘Leprechaun’ films I had kids and I see the world through their eyes, and to be in a horror movie right now is probably not quite right.”
Davis then teased that he plans to make his return to the genre once both of his kids are old enough to see the movies.
“I will wait until my son turns 18 and then I’ll do some horror again.”
After Davis made his franchise swan song with 2003’s Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, the Leprechaun property lay dormant until 2014’s widely rejected Leprechaun: Origins, which saw Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl take on the title role. Now the series is making a second attempt at a reboot with Leprechaun Returns, and this time, we have Linden Porco in the lead.
Earlier this year, Porco explained that he didn’t feel a strong need to recreate the performance that Davis brought to his films, telling Slasher Radio Podcast, “I think everything in this movie is my own,” before citing Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight as a greater source of inspiration. Nonetheless, the flick still contains at least one returning cast member in Mark Holton, with the Pee-wee’s Big Adventure star reprising his part as Ozzie Jones for the first time since the 1993 original.
While longtime fans may have trouble adjusting to the new lead, we’ll see if Porco can make the character his own when Leprechaun Returns comes to Digital on December 11th.
