UPDATE: Four months later, this has finally been confirmed by a trade. A24 landed ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ — a series and movie are in the works via JT Mollner and Glen Powell.
EARLIER: The battle for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has been heating up for a few months now. A flurry of studios and filmmakers — around eight in total— were said to be pitching to secure the rights to the horror IP originally created by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel.
As many as eight pitches emerged in buds to acquire the IP. Among them, Taylor Sheridan, Oz Perkins, Jordan Peele, Bryan Bertino and JT Mollner.
Three months later, it looks like Leatherface has a new home: A24. That’s what TheInSneider is reporting. The package includes Mollner’s pitch, he’s the “Strange Darling” filmmaker, in partnership with Glen Powell who will have an undisclosed “creative role.”
It was just a few weeks ago that Mollner had hinted at the deal on his social media posting an image of Leatherface wielding his chainsaw. Was he trying to say something? Turns out, he was. A24 has come out the winner of the ‘Texas Chainsaw’ bidding war.
Legendary Pictures has held the rights to the property and even made a ‘Texas Chainsaw’ movie in 2022 that streamed on Netflix. The IP has since returned to the rights holders – it is unclear who the group is, but they call themselves Verve.
The best ‘Texas Chainsaw’ was the original 1974 film. It’s very hard to replicate the atmosphere of that one, which felt eerily authentic and practically homemade. That said, I can easily see Mollner channeling the lo-fi, tense energy of “Strange Darling” into a Texas Chainsaw reboot.
Bassim Tariq was the first one in the chair. The "Mogul Mowgli" director spent two years building out the Mahershala Ali vehicle before exiting in 2022, and he's now letting the air out on this one.