Cast and Crew of ‘Leprechaun: Origins’ Interview

While Comic-Con is primarily known for comic books and the big blockbuster superhero features, just about every movie genre can be found at the yearly event.  Horror had a fairly strong presence this years with many horror television programs and feature films jumping into the fray.  Lionsgate was kind enough to invite us to one of these events and I had the opportunity to take part in a roundtable discussion with a few notable individuals.

My first roundtable was with Dylan Postl, the star of the upcoming film “Leprechaun: Origins.”  For those that don’t know, “Origins” is a reboot of the Leprechaun franchise and Postl is stepping into the iconic role made famous by Warwick Davis.

Postl is also known for his work in the WWE, playing such characters as Hornswoggle.  Unfortunately, Postl appeared in the WWE long after I stopped watching, so this was my first time meeting him.  I have to say he left a lasting impression on me as I thought he was very warm and friendly.  We sat and talked with Postl for about 15 minutes, here are some of the choice quotes from our time with him.

When asked if he had gone back and watched the original “Leprechaun” series before filming, Postl smiled sheepishly and replied:

Yes. . . I watched all of them . . . No, I had never seen one.  Never saw any of them. Talking to Zach (the director) before this, I told him ‘I’d never seen this.’ He said ‘Good, cause we’re not doing it.’ And I watched it (“Leprechaun: Origins”) for the first time last night and it was nothing like I expected.  It is nothing what “Leprechaun” fans are expecting.  It is so much better.

They’re. . . I’ve been saying this in every interview and it’s gonna get me a lot of heat I’m sure . . . They’re going to be saying ‘Warwick who?’  It is so different and I think the cult fans are going to be upset at first, but then they’re going to really love it.  Because this is a true horror film.  No little limericks or jokes or any of that.  It’s a gory horror film.  And I really enjoyed it.

Since Postl has an established fanbase from his WWE career, he was asked what would he like to tell them in regards to this movie.

Don’t hate me.  Oh man, they tore me to shreds on Twitter.  When WWE announced I was playing the Leprechaun, my Twitter blew up. ‘How could  you do this? Warwick Davis! You’re spitting his face!’ He even Tweeted, at one point, something like ‘Oh, they’re redoing it, I have nothing to do with it.’  We’re not redoing it, we’re making it our own.  It’s “Leprechaun: Origins”, not “Leprechaun in the Hood Part 7.”  It’s our thing, it’s the origins of it.

The only thing similar is the title. It couldn’t be more different.  That’s why I’m nervous. I’m nervous for this cult following, cause there is one.  At first, I have a feeling they’re going to think ‘Okay, I’m going to get Warwick’ and it’s not.  Then they’re going to see it and think ‘This ain’t half bad. I like this guy even more.’  Maybe . . . hopefully.

And if you think there’s a potential rivalry brewing between Warwick and Dylan, you couldn’t be further from the truth.  Dylan went on to say that he hopes he gets to meet Warwick because of this and expressed admiration for Warwick’s work and talked about how funny he thought he was.  He even jokingly suggested that they could meet up at Wrestlemania.

Next up was director Zach Lipovsky who is taking on the challenge of rebooting the franchise.  This Comic-Con was a special event for Zach as the director had been attending the Con for several years as a fan, but he was now going to make an appearance at his first panel.

The first question put to Zach was about the film itself and whether or not it was considered a reboot or a remake.

Well the really cool thing about “Leprechaun: Origins” is that it’s a totally new fresh perspective on what the “Leprechaun” franchise could be like and one that’s legitimately a horror film and a “R” horror film.

The past franchise owns what it did really well, being kind of tongue-in-cheek and having fun.  And this really takes the next step of ‘How can we ground it? How can we make this something that will legitimately terrify people? Disgust people?’  I actually hope people tune in expecting something tongue-in-cheek and then they’re horrified by it.

He went on to say that he took a lot of inspiration from Guillermo Del Toro and what he did with myths and legends.  He wants to take the Leprechaun from being a “Lucky Charms” cliche and make it a genuine creature that  would have been a monstrous legend 3,000 years ago.

When asked if there would be an unrated version of the movie, Zach simply stated that everything he wanted to get in the film was in the film.  It sounds like he set out to make a “R” rated feature and that’s what he got.

I finally found my opportunity to chime in and asked Zach how they went about designing the new version of the Leprechaun.

We really started from scratch with the direction of this thing has to be scary. It has to be something that you identify as a Leprechaun, so it has to have some identifiable features.  But we also came up with this mythology about why hasn’t anyone seen him in forever.  So it lives deep underground in the caves and so we looked at a lot of underground creatures like naked mole rats and Golem.  That kind of bleached wrinkly, almost nutsack, style look.

We also extended his arms and legs so the could be even more spindly and terrifying. I think people are going to be pretty surprised by what we’ve come up with.  It both honors what people are looking for, but grounds it and gives you something new.

Further elaborating on the creature, Zach revealed that the “Leprechaun” would have a strong presence in the film, but the reveal would come in a “Jaws”-like manner.  Meaning, there would be a sort of tension and suspense leading up to the full reveal of the Leprechaun in the movie.

“Leprechaun: Origins” is set to hit VOD and DVD on August 26, 2014.  Be sure to check out the latest trailer for your first look at the Leprechaun himself.