Some franchises never die, they just find a new pot of gold. Lionsgate is developing a new Leprechaun movie, according to MSN, and I cannot believe I am typing those words.

If you grew up on cable in the 90s you know this franchise. Warwick Davis in full green prosthetics chasing people around trying to get his gold back. Jennifer Aniston in the first one before she was Jennifer Aniston. The movie where he goes to the hood. The movie where he goes to the hood again. The one in space, because of course there's one in space. None of these are good in any traditional critical sense, and I will fight anyone who says they don't have a specific kind of magic.

The talent already attached is what caught my eye. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are writing the screenplay, and if you know horror you know those names from the Saw franchise. Oren Koules is producing. These are people who understand how to build tension and deliver set pieces that actually stick with you. No director or cast announced yet so there's still a lot we don't know about what shape this thing takes.

The franchise already has eight movies behind it, and the last attempt at a reboot, 2014's Leprechaun: Origins, went dark and serious in a way that I don't think worked at all. It stripped away the camp. That camp is the entire reason these movies lasted. The whole point is that it's a tiny magical man murdering people over gold. You can have fun with that.

But the timing makes sense. Horror is in a weirdly healthy place right now. Original stuff is thriving alongside established franchises, and studios are mining their libraries for anything with brand recognition. A new Leprechaun with the right tone and the right lead, on a budget that doesn't need a billion dollars to be profitable, could absolutely work. The character is iconic in a cult way. The silhouette alone is recognizable to anyone who spent too much time watching USA Network at 2 a.m.

I just hope whoever ends up directing this understands that the original movies are beloved because they're ridiculous. Warwick Davis committing 100 percent to a demented fairy creature spitting terrible one-liners is the whole appeal. You can make it scarier, sure. Update the effects, build real tension, give it some teeth. But if you strip the personality out of it you're just making another generic creature feature, and nobody asked for that.

Jess Wingo would probably say I'm being too sentimental about a movie where a leprechaun rides a skateboard. She might be right. These oddball franchises are part of what makes horror such a fun space to cover though. Not everything has to be prestige. Sometimes a small green man with a vendetta is exactly what the genre needs.

No timeline on this one yet, so it'll be a while before we see anything. But I'll be watching.