Jennifer Aniston-Starring Horror Movie Getting a Reboot

Jennifer Aniston may best be known for her starring role as Rachel Green on Friends, but just a year prior, she launched her big-screen career in the horror genre. In 1993, Aniston starred in director Mark Jones’ horror film Leprechaun, and now 30 years and eight films later, Lionsgate TV is rebooting the franchise with a new Leprechaun movie.

Multiple outlets confirmed last week that Lionsgate is currently developing a new Leprechaun film with It and Barbarian producer Roy Lee attached to produce alongside Miri Yoon under their Vertigo Entertainment banner. Meredith Wieck and Jon Humphrey will oversee for Lionsgate. The film, described as a “reimagining for a new generation of moviegoers,” per Deadline, will be directed by Felipe Vargas, who helmed the award-winning short film Milk Teeth, from a script by Mike Van Waes, who worked on the live-action Lilo & Stitch.

“Thirty years after its debut, this franchise still casts a spell, and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back with a new vision,” Erin Westerman, president of production for Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Roy and Miri are two of our most trusted producers, especially with this genre, and 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.”

Details of the upcoming movie, including plot and cast, are being kept tight-lipped. The franchise launched back in 1993 with Leprechaun. The movie, from low-budget home entertainment producer Trimark Pictures, starred Warwick Davis as a vengeful leprechaun seeking vengeance after Dan O’Grady (Shay Duffin) steals 100 gold coins. The film marked Aniston’s film debut, the actress starring as Tory Redding.

Although the original Leprechaun movie was initially met with negative reviews – it only holds a 27% critics score and a 32% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes – the movie, which $8.6 million against a budget of roughly $1 million, quickly became a cult classic. The film went on to spawn seven additional movies, becoming Lionsgate’s longest-running franchise, and the franchise is aired on SyFy annually on St. Patrick’s Day. Davis reprised the role of the leprechaun in six films, but he did not appear in 2014’s Leprechaun: Origins and 2018’s Leprechaun Returns, the most recent franchise installment. THR reported that the actor is not expected to reprise the role for the new film. Aniston, meanwhile, did not appear in the franchise after the first movie.