A fierce bidding war for the rights to the iconic horror franchise, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, has seemingly found a new creative distributor, and it is one of the most acclaimed names in horror. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was directed by Tobe Hooper and opened in 1974, forever changing the horror genre and helping give birth to the modern slasher. There have been multiple sequels, remakes, and prequels made revolving around the franchise’s key killer, Leatherface, and now some big names will reinvigorate the character.
Deadline reports that A24 has seemingly won the film and television rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and is developing a series from producers JT Mollner (Strange Darling), Roy Lee (Weapons), and Glen Powell (Hit Man). Many horror heavy hitters were vying for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights, with The Strangers’ Bryan Bertino pitching a feature film and Longlegs director Oz Perkins signed on as producer. Another pitch was from Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone and Tulsa King. Jordan Peele was briefly in the running but dropped out for unknown reasons. Deadline notes that no deal has been made yet and is subject to change, but A24 is the best suited to earn the rights.
‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Joins ‘Alien’ and ‘The Conjuring’ on Television
News of a bidding war for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise first surfaced in March 2025 when it was announced that the franchise owners, Verve, were holding meetings with many creative partners. With Mollner and Lee coming off their recent collaboration as writer and producer on the acclaimed The Long Walk, and Powell about to debut Chad Powers, the trio was the hottest. Powell is not expected to star in The Texas Chainsaw series. While the series has no home yet, producer Roy Lee reportedly floated the offer to Netflix, according to Deadline.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of many iconic horror film franchises that is now making the leap to television, hoping for a new revival. Chucky brought the Child’s Play franchise to television and became a cult hit, running for three seasons on USA and Syfy. Alien: Earth earned some of the best critical and fan reactions the Alien franchise has seen in years. In addition to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A24 is also developing a television prequel to Friday the 13th centered on Jason Voorhees’ mother, Pamela, for Peacock. It: Welcome to Derry premieres on HBO Max in October 2025, and the news just broke that The Conjuring is getting an HBO prequel series.
Even though The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most iconic horror films of all time, its legacy as a franchise has been rough, particularly in the past twenty years following the 2003 remake, which kicked off the horror remake craze of the mid to late 2000s. The franchise has been at a low point for some time, with poorly received entries like the prequel Texas Chainsaw 3D, the prequel to the prequel Leatherface, and the legacy sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Even if nothing is in place yet, the prospect of an A24-produced Texas Chainsaw Massacre television series from the minds behind Strange Darlings, The Long Walk, and Hit Man sounds like an exciting reinvention.
