The ’Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Is Coming Back to Life — Thanks to A24, JT Mollner, and Glen Powell

The horror franchise will first get a television series, with plans for a new film — and seemingly much more — also in the works.

Lest you doubt his commitment to his home state, Glen Powell really does love Texas, even enough to be part of the group bringing arguably its most famous film franchise back to life.

After a competitive situation that has spanned months, A24 is on deck to shepherd the next iteration of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to screens both large and small. Powell, alongside his Barnstorm partner Dan Cohen, will executive produce the first project related to the title: a TV series, to be directed by “Strange Darling” and “The Long Walk” filmmaker JT Mollner. Per A24, Powell is serving “strictly in a producing role.”

Other executive producers include Spooky Pictures’ Roy Lee and Steven Schneider, Stuart Manashil, Image Nation’s Ben Ross, and Exurbia Films’ Kim Henkel, who co-created the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” with Hooper. Exurbia Films’ Ian Henkel and Pat Cassidy will also produce. 

Per today’s official announcement from A24, “With interest from several studios and high-level creative teams, Verve, which represents all media rights, led the process, working with Exurbia Films … with the goal of building out and developing a strategic plan for the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ deal as well as to best position the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ brand and its creative and innovative future while protecting the franchise’s legacy.”

“It was a difficult decision, but A24’s embrace of boundary-testing genre film, and its record of working with artists who are inclined to test boundaries made them a compelling choice,” Kim Henkel shared. “Plus, we believe having a great creative and producing team — JT Mollner, Roy Lee, Dan Cohen, and Glen Powell — in place gives us the best shot at a series that could be genuinely eye-opening and unexpected. There’s an epic tale lurking in the Chainsaw backstory.” 

Mollner will direct the initial series, and while a film is also in early development with the same producing team and Image Nation, Mollner is not attached to the film.

“I’ve said publicly that I’m not interested in remaking perfect films, and the original ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ is a perfect film,” Mollner said in his own statement. “Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel created something bold, transgressive, and truly seminal that holds up even today as the gold standard for horror. When the opportunity for a long form exploration into this world arose, I saw it as a fresh way in, as well as a way to honor the existing folklore. I can’t imagine better partners for this approach than A24. This is truly an honor.”

“The ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ is one of my favorite films. It defined a generation of horror films and over half a century after its release, it remains one of the definitive movies of my home state,” added Powell. “I’m honored to have Barnstorm help bring in a new chapter for such an iconic title and franchise. With a marquee home in A24 and visionary filmmaker with JT Mollner, alongside our top shelf producing partners, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better team for such a dream property.”

Hooper’s horrifying 1974 original film offered a fresh new vision of American horror — heavy on the in-breeding, certainly not light on the cannibalism — that cleverly positioned its story of a bloodthirsty backwoods family as being “true.” It went on to spawn a franchise that currently includes nine films, comics, a novel, and two video game adaptations that span four different continuities.

The last “Texas Chainsaw” film was made in 2022 by Netflix (after its rights changed hands from Lionsgate to Legendary Pictures, hinting at some of the rights hullabaloo to come) and was directed by filmmaker David Blue Garcia. Set 50 years after the original story, it was released on the streaming platform to generally negative reviews.

CAA reps Roy Lee & Barnstorm. Mollner is repped by UTA, World Builder Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Schneider is repped by UTA. Exurbia Films (Kim Henkel, Ian Henkel, and Pat Cassidy) is represented by Verve and attorney Marios Rush.