Leprechaun is an American

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 comedy horror

Comedy horror

Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...

 franchise consisting of six films and a comic book series. Beginning with 1993's Leprechaun

Leprechaun (film)

Leprechaun is a 1993 horror film directed by Mark Jones, starring Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston in her first film role. The film was shot in Saugus, California...

the series centers around a malevolent and murderous leprechaun, who, when his gold is taken from him, resorts to any means necessary to reclaim it.

Overview

In the original Leprechaun

Leprechaun (film)

Leprechaun is a 1993 horror film directed by Mark Jones, starring Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston in her first film role. The film was shot in Saugus, California...

(1993), Daniel O'Grady (Shay Duffin) captures the Leprechaun (Warwick Davis

Warwick Davis

Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...

) while in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, takes his gold and smuggles it back to his home in North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

, unaware the Leprechaun has followed him. Confronting O'Grady and demanding his gold the Leprechaun is injured by O'Grady and sealed in a crate with a four-leaf clover, though before O'Grady can kill the creature he suffers a stroke. Ten years later the Leprechaun is accidentally released by Tory Redding (a then-unknown Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...

) and her new friends, and goes on a killing spree in search of his gold, which Alex Murphy (Robert Gorman) and Ozzie (Mark Holton

Mark Holton

Mark Holton is an American actor.-Career:Holton's most famous roles may be that of Francis Buxton, Pee-Wee Herman's nemesis, in the 1985 blockbuster Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and Joe Charbonic in Bille August's Convicted, starring Connie Nielsen and Aidan Quinn. Other notable 1980s roles were as...

) had discovered. After the Leprechaun reclaims the bulk of his gold he is defeated when Alex shoots a four-leaf clover down his throat with a slingshot and Alex's older brother Nathan (Ken Olandt

Ken Olandt

Kenneth Andrew "Ken" Olandt is an American actor, producer, and executive producer. He has starred in many feature films and television shows....

) blows up the well the Leprechaun falls into.

In Leprechaun 2

Leprechaun 2

Leprechaun 2 is a 1994 horror film sequel to Leprechaun which centers on a sadistically evil leprechaun hunting for a bride. It's assumed that the film takes place a few years after the events of the first film...

(1994) the Leprechaun seeks out a new bride in modern day Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, one thousand years after an earlier attempt to claim a bride was foiled (This directly contradicts the Leprechaun's statement, in the first film's 1993 setting, that he is 600 years old, but this is a mild continuity error compared to other changes the Leprechaun's backstory undergoes throughout the franchise.). Claiming a fussy teenage girl named Bridget (Shevonne Durkin

Shevonne Durkin

Shevonne Durkin is an American actress. She starred in the 1994 horror movie Leprechaun 2 among other movies and television shows.-External links:...

), the descendent of his original choice of a wife, the Leprechaun holds her captive in his lair and terrorizes her boyfriend Cody (Charlie Heath), who had taken one of his gold coins. In the end Cody saves Bridget and defeats the Leprechaun by impaling him with a spike made of wrought iron

Wrought iron

thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

, one of the few substances that can harm a Leprechaun.

Leprechaun 3

Leprechaun 3

Leprechaun 3 is a 1995 slasher/black comedy film. It was the first direct-to-video in the Leprechaun series. The movie seems to take place after the events of Leprechaun: In The Hood and Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood but before the events of Leprechaun-Plot:In a Las Vegas pawn shop, a decrepit old...

(1995) begins with the Leprechaun, having been changed into a statue by a magical medallion, being sold to a Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 pawn shop. Assuming his original form when the clerk, Gupta, removes the medallion, the Leprechaun kills him and goes on a rampage through Las Vegas in search of one of his wish granting coins, which is passed from hand to hand. The Leprechaun is ultimately defeated by college student Scott McCoy (John Gatins) and Scott's new girlfriend Tammy Larsen (Lee Armstrong

Lee Armstrong

Lee Armstrong is an American actress. She starred in two movies in 1995, Magic Island and Leprechaun 3. She had an uncredited role in the 40 minute family short "Classic Stories for Children" in 1992. According to IMDB she appeared in a commercial for Ocean Spray. She also served as an intern on...

), who blast his gold with a flamethrower, causing it to vanish and the Leprechaun to burst into flames.

Taking place in the future, Leprechaun 4: In Space

Leprechaun 4: In Space

Leprechaun 4: In Space is a 1997 direct-to-video horror science fiction comedy film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. It is the fourth film in the series, which began with the 1993 film Leprechaun about an evil leprechaun...

(1997) has the Leprechaun abduct and begin courting snobbish alien princess Zarina (Rebekah Carlton), seducing her with promises of wealth. After being blown up by a group of marines who rescue Zarina, the Leprechaun is reborn on the marines' ship via exploding out of the groin of one of an unfortunate man, Kowalski. He then goes off in search of his stolen bride and gold, killing all those who get in his way. After being turned into a giant via an enlargement ray, the Leprechaun is ejected into space by the survivors of the massacre, Tina Reeves (Jessica Collins), Books Malloy (Brent Jasmer) and Sticks (Miguel A. Núñez, Jr.)

Set in Compton, California

Compton, California

Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...

, Leprechaun: In the Hood

Leprechaun: In the Hood

Leprechaun: In the Hood is a horror comedy directed by Rob Spera which was released in 2000. It is chronologically the first film in the series . It is the fifth entry in the Leprechaun series.- Plot :Wannabe Los Angeles rap artists Postmaster P...

(2000) has the Leprechaun being turned to stone once more, this time by pimp Mack Daddy O'Nassas (Ice-T

ICE-T

* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...

), who uses the Leprechaun's mind-controlling magic flute to become a successful music producer. Years later, the Leprechaun is unknowingly changed back to flesh and blood by a trio of wannabe rappers led by Postmaster P. (Anthony Montgomery

Anthony Montgomery

Anthony T. Montgomery is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Ensign Travis Mayweather on the UPN science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise . Montgomery is the grandson of jazz musician Wes Montgomery...

) who rob Mack Daddy, taking the Leprechaun's gold and the flute from him with the intent of using the objects to become successful. Hunted by both Mack Daddy and the Leprechaun, Postmaster P., after his friends and Mack Daddy are killed, is brainwashed into becoming a servant of the Leprechaun. Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood

Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood

Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood is a 2003 direct-to-video comedy-horror film written and directed by Steven Ayromlooi. The sixth installment of the Leprechaun series taking place before the events of Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2 and Leprechaun 4: In Space the film has the villainous...

(2003) begins with the Leprechaun stalking Father Jacob (Willie C. Carpenter) trying to get his gold back, only to be dragged into the ground by demonic hands when the priest uses four-leaf clover laced holy water against him before dying from a heart attack. One year later the Leprechaun's gold is discovered by eighteen-year-old Emily Woodrow (Tangi Miller) and her friends, who use the gold to fulfill their wildest fantasies, unintentionally releasing the Leprechaun, who goes after Emily and the others to get his gold back, killing everyone who gets in his way. On the rooftop of the abandoned community centre

Community centre

Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...

 Father Jacob had been building using the Leprechaun's gold Emily and her boyfriend Rory Jackson (Laz Alonso

Laz Alonso

Lazaro "Laz" Alonso is an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing Tsu'tey in James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar. He is also well known for his role as Fenix "Rise" Calderon in the film Fast & Furious. Alonso has had roles in other films such as Jarhead, This...

) defeat the Leprechaun by knocking him and his gold off the roof and into a pool of wet cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 below, where the Leprechaun sinks and becomes trapped.

Crew

Film	Director	Writer(s)	Producer(s)
1. Leprechaun	Mark Jones Mark Jones (screenwriter) Mark Jones is an American screenwriter, film director, television director, film producer, and television producer. He is notable for his work on the Leprechaun horror franchise and numerous television series such as The A-Team and The Highwayman...		Mark Amin Mark Amin Mark Amin is an Iranian-American motion picture producer and distributor. He formed Vidmark Entertainment in the early 1980s which handled mainly video releases, and was a pioneer in home video entertainment. In 1985, Amin changed the name of Vidmark to Trimark Holdings Inc...  & Jeffrey B. Mallian
2. Leprechaun 2	Rodman Flender Rodman Flender Rodman Flender is an American actor, writer, director and producer.-Career:Flender's directing credits include the feature films The Unborn, Idle Hands and the documentary Let Them Eat Rock...	Turi Meyer & Al Septien	Donald P. Borchers & Mark Jones
3. Leprechaun 3	Brian Trenchard-Smith Brian Trenchard-Smith Brian Trenchard-Smith is an English film and television director, producer, writer, consultant and actor who is notable for his contributions to the horror and action genre during the 1970s and 1980s in Australia. Most of his work has been in television, and the majority of his films have been...	David DuBos	Mark Amin, Jeff Geoffray, Walter Josten & Henry Seggerman
4. In Space		Dennis A. Pratt & Scott Atkins	Mark Amin, Jeff Geoffray & Walter Josten
5. In the Hood	Rob Spera	Doug Hall, John Huffman, Alan Reynolds, Rob Spera & William Wells	Bruce David Eisen, Darin Spillman & Mike Upton
6. Back 2 tha Hood	Steven Ayromlooi		Mike Upton

Literature

Prior to the release of the original Leprechaun Trimark Pictures released an eight-page comic book prequel to the film. The story presented in the book is contradictory to the events of the film in several regards, such as depicting Daniel O'Grady as a lowly farmer and inhabitant of Ireland (instead of America) who obtains the Leprechaun's gold not by capturing the creature (as was stated in the film) but by following a rainbow.

In 2008 publishing company Bluewater Productions

Bluewater Productions

Bluewater Productions, Inc. is an independent production studio of comic books and graphic novels. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Bluewater publishes biographical comics, adaptations from films and original titles with self-created characters, most notably of publisher Darren G...

 announced that it will release a Leprechaun comic book series, which began in May 2009. Written by Zach Hunchar and illustatred by Kris Carter the first arc of the series follows the Leprechaun (who is revealed to be named Lubdan and is also the king and last of his species) as he battles rival race the Clurichaun

Clurichaun

The clurichaun , or clobhair in O'Kearney, is an Irish fairy which resembles the leprechaun. Some folklorists describe the clurichaun as a night "form" of the leprechaun, who goes out to drink after finishing his daily chores. Others regard them as regional variations on the same...

 and travels the world in search of his gold, which was stolen and auctioned off online, with the reluctant help of the geeky Ethan Thomas and his friends. With only four issues released, the series was seemingly cancelled, as no new issues have been announced. Micheal Kingston was slated to write the second arc of the series.

Plans for a four-issue comic book crossover between the Leprechaun and Warlock

Warlock (1989 film)

Warlock is a 1989 American cult horror film directed by Steve Miner, written by David Twohy and produced by Roger Corman. It was also produced by New World Pictures and distributed by Trimark Pictures. The cast includes Julian Sands, Lori Singer, and Richard E. Grant...

series, which would have been written by Nick Lyons and released in late 2009, were made, but did not come pass.