Glen Powell And A24 Unleash Texas Chainsaw Massacre On TV And In A New Film — First Details Revealed
After a fierce bidding war, A24 has claimed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and is revving up both a TV series and a feature film, with Glen Powell on board as executive producer for each.
Well, this is a swing. A24 now owns the keys to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and is already loading the truck with not one but two projects: a TV series first, then a movie. And yes, that Glen Powell - currently orbiting 'The Running Man' - is driving from the producer side on both.
What A24 just bought into
A24 won the franchise in a competitive rights fight and is wasting zero time. The plan starts with a series and follows with a feature. It is the studio's first time steering Leatherface and company.
The series: new blood, old bones
The show will be directed by JT Mollner, billed here as the writer of 'The Long Walk.' He is not remaking the original - more on that in a second - but he is the first creative out of the gate under A24.
- Executive producers: Glen Powell through his Barnstorm banner; Dan Cohen for Barnstorm; Ben Ross for Image Nation; Stuart Manashil; Roy Lee and Steven Schneider via Spooky Pictures; original 1974 co-writer Kim Henkel for Exurbia Films
- Producers for Exurbia: Ian Henkel and Pat Cassidy
Powell, who grew up in Texas, basically called the 1974 film a lodestar for horror and for his home state. He says Barnstorm is helping usher in a new chapter with A24 and Mollner, and that this is the dream team for a dream property.
Mollner, for his part, is very clear about intent: he is not interested in remaking a perfect film. He calls the original bold, transgressive, and still the genre's gold standard. The draw for him is the long-form format - a way to get inside the mythology without touching what already works - and he says A24 is the right partner for that.
The movie: early days
The feature is in development but still in the sketch phase. The same producing brain trust from the series is attached. No director has been named yet.
'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,' original co-writer Kim Henkel said, adding that with JT Mollner, Roy Lee, Dan Cohen, and Glen Powell in place, the team has the best shot at something eye-opening and unexpected - because there is an epic tale lurking in the Chainsaw backstory.
Quick refresher on the franchise
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre kicked off in 1974 with Tobe Hooper behind the camera and Kim Henkel co-writing - a nasty, low-budget blast about Leatherface and his rural family terrorizing unlucky visitors. Before A24 stepped in, the series had already spawned ten films, the latest being Netflix's 2022 entry. Across all of that, the movies have hauled in over $252 million worldwide.
The interesting twist here is A24 taking on a long-running slasher brand and pushing a series first, with a filmmaker who wants to expand the lore rather than rehash the original. If they can thread that needle - honor the legend, do something new, keep the grime - this could actually work.