“Who will survive and what will be left of them?” asks the tagline for Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It’s also what one might ask now that the rights for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise — which spans sequels, prequels, and remakes — have hit the market, sparking a frenzy among interested parties like actor and producer Glen Powell (Hit Man, Twisters) and filmmaker Andy Muschietti (the It movies).
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According to Deadline, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights are being shopped by the independent talent agency Verve, who represent rights holders Exurbia Films (which assumed ownership of Texas Chainsaw in 2017). The Austin-based Exurbia consists of producer and agent Pat Cassidy, original Texas Chain Saw Massacre co-creator and co-writer Kim Henkel, and his son, 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre producer Ian Henkle.
Powell, an Austin native, has reportedly shown interest in a potential reboot from Strange Darling writer-director JT Mollner and his producer Roy Lee, whose horror credits include The Ring (2002), The Grudge (2004), The Strangers (2008), 2015’s Poltergeist remake, the 2016 Blair Witch Project sequel, 2017’s Death Note, and 2024’s Salem’s Lot remake.
Deadline notes that Powell has expressed interest in reading a script, should Mollner pen one. The outlet also reports that A24 Films (Ti West’s X trilogy, Talk to Me, Heretic) and Lionsgate (which distributed 2013’s Texas Chainsaw 3D and 2017’s Leatherface) are among the studios interested in a Mollner-Powell Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Also said to be in the mix is Neon, which is “looking for its next big horror film” after Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs (2024) and The Monkey (2025) grossed a combined $187 million. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Muschietti, who founded production company Double Dream with his producer sister Barbara Muschietti (The Electric State), is interested in what could be his first horror film since It Chapter Two in 2019.
“Verve represents The Texas Chainsaw Massacre estate and is building out a multimedia strategy for the seminal horror franchise,” a representative told Deadline, adding that the company “has not officially submitted the property into any filmmakers, producers or buyers. Because this is such a hot and iconic horror property, packages are pre-emptively being brought to Verve.”
Best known for its chainsaw-wielding cannibalistic killer who wears the flesh of his victims, the nine-movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has grossed a collective $248 million since 1974. (The Michael Bay-produced 2003 remake is the highest-grossing installment with a global box office haul of $107 million.)
In 2018, it was reported that Legendary sought the rights to develop films and a television series. Legendary and Exurbia produced 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a 50-years-later sequel to the 1974 original, which was released on Netflix and massacred by critics. The storied franchise has been left hanging on meat hooks ever since.
