Launch Party: Jason vs. the Leprechaun

We all knew this day would come, right?

Friday the 13th falling on the most Irish of months (well, in America, at least). It was inevitable that the twain shall meet on this most inauspicious day.

And much like Frederick vs Jason, I feel like it’s only right that Jason should get the opportunity to meet Lubdan the Leprechaun…or another leprechaun from the Leprechaun series. Because, allegedly, they’re different leprechauns in the movies, despite most of them being portrayed by the incredible Warwick Davis.

Now, I may not work in Hollywood, and I may not have seen every Friday the 13th or all of the Leprechaun series yet…but here I am living the American Dream, imagining my very own piece of the Leprechaun vs Jason pie.

How this could work

Look, the Leprechaun and Jason have one thing in common – their love of space. Or, at least, they were in space at some point because in the future, space travel isn’t just for millionaire musicians, it’s for horror villains, too.

In Jason X (which is an underrated parody film, let’s be honest), Mr. Jason Voorhees wakes up in the year 2455 after being cryogenically frozen because if you can’t beat ’em, you might as well freeze ’em.

Earth #1 had become so polluted that humanity needed to develop an Earth #2. However, when students (I’m assuming grad students) travel back to Earth I, they grab popsicle Jason and take him aboard their spaceship to study him, believing him to be dead.

Big surprise, he’s not.

In Leprechaun 4: In Space (because let’s just cut to the point in the title), it takes place in 2096 (which is in 70 years, so some of you may be there to see this in real life) where the Leprechaun is engaged to an alien princess- No, wait! Come back! I promise you it only gets worse!

He’s actually planning to kill her (and she’s planning to kill him, so it’s super cute), but before he can, space marines find him and they are PISSED. Because the Leprechaun is messing with their mining operations. But in the ensuing encounter, the Leprechaun has a lightsaber and- Noooo! Come back! I didn’t even tell you about the part where he possesses some guy’s dick!!!

The Meatcute

It would be so easy to make. They’re both immortal. They both like to kill. One likes to rap. Sadly, it’s not Jason.

It’s a perfect odd couple situation.

With this new tie-in with Lep (I’m getting tired of typing this all out) and Jason, we can broach both plotlines: alien discovery!

Oh, no not *that* alien. That’d be way too costly…However, maybe the sequel movie could have a surprise cameo of the alien baby in Alien: Resurrection (which had one of my top ten Worst Deaths in Any Horror Film). It was literally just a baby!

But in my Jason vs Lep crossover, humans will once again be exploring space, in hopes of finding signs of alien lifeform. En route, they find a mysterious capsule with strange, degraded warnings on it. They can’t resist picking it up, of course, and find the re-frozen and a little freeze-dried remains of Jason. How mysterious. Who is this man? The markings have pictures that make him seem almost god-like.

They brush it off as some “space burial of some important religious figure of our ancestors” since the remains are so old. However, this perplexes Girl Character 1, who is much more studious and serious than Girl Characters 2 and 3. Like, thanks for inviting her to the futuristic space party, but she’s too busy in the lab right now. She has glasses and a pony tail.

Meanwhile Lep is floating in space after faking his death in Lep 4 because magic. But he can sense the ship because, ya’ll, spaceships have gold. I am not kidding. So, he makes his way to the spaceship because the more gold he has, the more powerful he can be and GTFO of space.

One by one people keep disappearing or getting killed off in the ship, but by what or whom?

The final survivors get ready to fight back…when the spaceship begins to have maintenance problems. Someone or something has been breaking into the panels and taking out the gold conductors (note to self: ask PhD engineer brother about this, have him punch this part up with science stuff).

Being hunted down like prey while their ship is being torn apart, what chances do these survivors have? And is luck on their side*? (*possible tag line)

Final thoughts

Don’t steal this Hollywood! Pinky promise me! I have an ending in my head that you’ll love, fans will love, and maybe the Irish will love.

I just want to note that despite the goofy-ass directions that The Leprechaun and Friday the 13th took, there was some real art and talent that went into these franchises. Warwick Davis is plays a compelling and menacing Leprechaun. He makes the role a really unique villain in a world of huge monstery men, exactly like what Jason becomes. He really brings life and fun to the character in each movie, even the one where he raps.

Kane Hodder was the first actor to play Jason more than once and just like James Bond films, people have their favorite Jason. Most the people I’ve talked to point to Hodder. He’s also been at a lot of fan events and seems really engaged with his fans and the fandom. Jason X was his final Jason, which seems fitting here.

Both Jason X and The Leprechaun: In Space are silly films, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had, and that might be the vibe of my L vs. J movie. Something that’s aware of the oddness of their later sequels; a movie poking fun of the campiness while paying homage. Looking back at the past with both an eyeroll and a fond smile.

Or, idk, the whole thing be like the alien-baby’s death in Resurrection.