Old school horror icons like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees have fallen to the wayside a bit as audiences flock to see newer releases like The Conjuring series or IT. There are certainly plenty of great, new horror franchises to keep fans happy, but sometimes you just can't beat the classics. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has had some disappointing entries in the back half of the series, but Leatherface could be coming back to theaters in a big way. A new report indicates that the rights of the franchise are changing hands, with more movies potentially on the way.
The last time that horror fans saw Leatherface do unspeakable things with a chainsaw was in the Leatherface prequel. Before that was Texas Chainsaw 3D, and neither really set the world on fire. It seemed that after the disappointing Leatherface, the franchise may have finally run out of steam, but in this modern world of moviemaking, no franchise is ever truly dead.
Bloody Disgusting is a trusted source when it comes to horror movie news, and the site is reporting that more Texas Chainsaw movies could be on the way. Reportedly, after the release of Leatherface last year, the rights of the franchise left Millennium Films and returned to Kim Henkel, writer and producer on the 1974 original classic. After a year, it sounds like the rights are moving once again, with Legendary Pictures apparently heavily in the mix to nab the rights. Legendary is behind the new Godzilla and King Kong movies, so the studio knows a thing or two about revitalizing classic films. The goal would be to produce more slasher films, but a television series is potentially in the cards as well.
The point is that the rights to Texas Chainsaw are in flux, so even if Legendary doesn't acquire them, then it's likely that more movies are coming. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the potential for the series returning should make fans excited. It's especially interesting when you consider that Legendary is reportedly close to a renewed distribution deal with Warner Bros. As Bloody Disgusting points out, Warner Bros. is the parent company of New Line Cinema, who owns the rights to Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. So, if Legendary got Texas Chainsaw, that could potentially set the stage for a shared horror movie universe. Though that is just pure speculation at this point.
Is Leatherface coming back to the big screen? Do we want Leatherface coming back at all? All questions will soon be answered, so stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with new information as soon as it is available. In the meantime, keep track of all the movies heading to theaters in our 2018 movie release guide.
