As the franchise’s star, Warwick Davis, onceexplained the order of the Leprechaun movies, “The great thing about this creature is that he is a mythological character so if he dies at the end of a movie, he can regenerate for another one. There are no real rules, no kind of throughline you have to follow. We never have to acknowledge any sort of continuity so that’s why these movies are so great—there are so many fantastic worlds and possibilities you can explore with a character like this.” Fans of the Leprechaun film series will likely be happy to know that there might be more movies coming at the end of the rainbow. Spiral: From the Book of Saw director Darren Bousman revealed that he’d love to make more Leprechaun films given the chance, but with a caveat. “I would make a more direct sequel to the Leprechaun franchise. I would not reboot it. I don’t want to do that,” he told Bloody Disgusting. “I would demand that Warwick Davis come back. I wouldn’t do it without him … They love Warwick Davis, that’s what they want.” He also vowed, if given the chance, he’d keep the humor in the movies as well, noting, “I think that’s what’s so great about the Leprechaun films. They’re silly, they’re fun. They are violent, but it’s a pure popcorn movie. I would not try to change the tone. I would make it equally as bats—t, bonkers crazy. It would be between the first film and Back 2 tha Hood. It would be somewhere in that tonal frame. It got really ridiculous as they went on, but that ridiculousness is what made them fun.” That said, if you want to know how to watch the Leprechaun movies in order right now, we’ve got you covered—but know that, as Davis says, there’s a lot of wiggle room to skip around!
Leprechaun Movies in Order
1. Leprechaun (1993)
The original Leprechaunstars Warwick Davis(of Willowand Life’s Too Short fame) in the title role, rocking four hours worth of makeup (that reportedly took another 40 minutes to take off at the end of each shooting day), as well as a then-unknown Jennifer Aniston making her feature film debut (though Davis later said that Aniston “tends to deny that movie ever happened”). The film shows the evil leprechaun Lubdan following Dan O’Grady (Shay Duffin) home to North Dakota following a trip to his native Ireland; O’Grady has the leprechaun’s gold. The leprechaun murders O’Grady’s wife, and it’s just the very beginning of the rather unlucky streak that follows O’Grady and everyone who rents his farmhouse thereafter. Fun fact: Writer-director Mark Jones told Entertainment Weeklythat his inspiration for Leprechaun was actually Lucky Charms commercials, though obviously with a much darker (and oftentimes hilarious) twist. Leprechaun will also air on SyFy on:
St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 8 p.m.Friday, March 18, 2022, at 1:30 p.m.Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at 10:20 a.m.Thursday, March 24, 2022, at 7 a.m.
2. Leprechaun Returns (2018)
Released in 2018, Leprechaun Returnsis technically the only true direct sequel to the original Leprechaun, in that it references the prior characters and storyline beyond the title monster himself. Taylor Spreitler stars as Lila Jenkins, the daughter of Tory Redding, who Aniston played in the original 1993 film. Neither Davis nor Aniston returns to reprise their roles (Linden Porco plays Lubdan, and Lila says in expository dialogue that Tory died a year prior from cancer), but Mark Holton returns as Ozzie Jones. Davis explained of his absence, “We did six Leprechaun films, and around Halloween people always watch them and love them. 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. I will wait until my son turns 18 and then I’ll do some horror again.” Leprechaun Returns features not only the creepy leprechaun himself but also elements of ghosts and even a brief zombie vignette—and even a nod to Alien.
3. Leprechaun 2 (1994)
Following the success of Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2 tries to recapture the dark magic of the original, with Lubdan hitting up Los Angeles to find a wife, his precious gold and an all-new set of victims. Davis returns in the title role, and the movie is creepy on more than one level: Lubdan abducts a teenage girl named Bridget to be his bride and murders any and everyone who dares to get in his way. Be on the lookout for appearances from Clint Howardand Mad TVicon Michael McDonald. How to watch Leprechaun 2: Stream on Fubo TV, Hulu and Peacock or rent on Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube starting at $3.99. Leprechaun 2 will also air on SyFy on:
St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.Friday, March 25, 2022, at 10 a.m.
4. Leprechaun 3 (1995)
Davis reprises the role of Lubdan in Leprechaun 3, the first of the franchise’s films to be released directly to video. In Leprechaun 3, Lubdan brings the luck of the Irish to Las Vegas, and unfortunately for everyone he encounters—including an Elvis impersonator—what happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily stay there. One of the many lessons of Leprechaun 3 is to be careful what you wish for, even if it’s just a winning streak in Sin City. Leprechaun 3 will also air on SyFy on:
St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 4 p.m.Friday, March 18, 2022, at 12 a.m.Tuesday, March 23, 2022, at 7 a.m.
5. Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
While all installments of Leprechaun injected a ton of humor to balance out the gore and scares, Leprechaun 4: In Spacefully embraces the absurdity of it all and kicks it up about 100 notches. Davis is Lubdan once more, this time attempting to kidnap a princess in space. There are aliens, space marines, robots and just about every other imaginable sci-fi trope they can possibly send up, so go into this one expecting to laugh a lot. Leprechaun 4 will also air on SyFy on:
St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 2 p.m.Friday, March 18, 2022, at 2 a.m.
6. Leprechaun 5: In the Hood (2000)
Leprechaun 5: In the Hoodfollows Lubdan as he chases fledgling rappers who themselves are chasing money, fame and clout. Real-life rappers Coolioand Bad Azz make appearances as themselves in this hilarious hip-hop-themed revenge tale, which also stars Ice-T (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as a record producer and pimp. Davis said this was one of the most fun to make, but that one scene horrified him during filming. “I think the most terrifying thing I’ve ever had to do was to perform the Leprechaun rap; I had no idea what I was doing and I had to ask for help from some of my co-stars even,” he admitted. “I just remember they handed me the lyrics and told me to just ‘do my thing’ and I just panicked. I think I pulled it off okay; fans still ask me to this day to perform the rap, but I honestly don’t even remember the lyrics that well.” Leprechaun 5: In the Hood will also on air on SyFy on:
St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 12 p.m.Friday, March 18, 2022, at 4 a.m.
7. Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood
Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hoodis another Black comedy featuring Davis as Lubdan, this time terrorizing a down-on-her-luck hairstylist who took his gold. While any Leprechaun movie is great for St. Patrick’s Day viewing, this outing can also serve as film fodder on 4/20 as well. Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood will also air on SyFy on St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 9:55 a.m.
8. Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
Leprechaun: Origins is a complete reboot of the Leprechaun franchise, so you can watch this one completely separate from the rest of the horror-comedy line of films. Leprechaun: Origins, released in 2014, is a more straightforward horror film, with the title monster being far less cute and quirky than his riddle-spitting predecessors—think more “creature feature” than Lucky Charms-inspired silliness. Leprechaun: Origins will also air on SyFy on St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17, 2022) at 6 a.m. Next, check out and chuckle at these hilarious St. Patrick’s Day memes!
