Lionsgate is working on another Leprechaun movie, and the filmmakers behind The Collector are in talks to take charge of the franchise’s latest return. Dread Central, citing Deadline, reports that Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are negotiating to resurrect the horror series for the studio.
The project remains at an early stage. No plot details have been reported, and the available announcement does not name a cast, a production start or a release window. It also does not establish whether the film would continue an existing timeline, restart the series or tell a standalone story. For now, the concrete development is the involvement of Melton and Dunstan in the talks.
The team attached to the project
Melton and Dunstan share a long history in horror. They began as screenwriters on the creature feature Feast, then worked on the scripts for Saw IV through Saw 3D and Piranha 3DD. Dunstan made his feature directing debut with The Collector, the 2009 film the pair wrote together.
The producing team is also taking shape. Oren Koules and Miles Koules are attached to produce through Koulest Productions. Dan Heffner and Ketura Kestin will serve as executive producers.
Dread Central describes this as Lionsgate’s second recent attempt to bring Leprechaun back. In 2024, Felipe Vargas was attached to direct a screenplay by Mike Van Waes. The new report instead centers on the talks with Melton and Dunstan; it does not describe how much, if any, material from that earlier version will carry forward.
A franchise built around its title character
The series began with the 1993 Leprechaun, written and directed by Mark Jones. The original film follows a family that moves into a new home and discovers that a murderous leprechaun has been trapped there. Once released, the creature hunts the people who took his gold.
Warwick Davis played the leprechaun in the original and several sequels. The first movie also gave Jennifer Aniston her first starring role in a feature film. The property went on to produce multiple sequels, a remake and a later requel, giving Lionsgate several possible continuities to address if the new project advances.
The report does not confirm whether Davis, Linden Porco or any other previous performer will be involved. It likewise leaves the setting, story and exact form of the revival unannounced. Those questions remain open while Lionsgate’s talks with Melton and Dunstan continue.
The current material also does not identify a production date or announce a screenwriter beyond the two filmmakers involved in the talks.