Texas Chainsaw Massacre bidding war competitors Osgood Perkins and JT Mollner share updates
Leatherface is a very popular guy. A few months ago, it was revealed that Legendary Pictures, the company behind the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre film that was released through the Netflix streaming service, had let their rights to make new films in the franchise lapse, so Verve, which currently represents the rights, are looking to “build out a multimedia strategy” for the franchise, with filmmakers, producers, and buyers looking to get involved. It was said that writer/director JT Mollner (Strange Darling) and producer Roy Lee (It) were among the interested parties, with actor Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) hoping to read the script if the project ended up in Mollner’s hands. Mollner quickly distanced himself from the whole thing, but was apparently still in the running… and he had some serious competition. A couple of months ago, we heard that five to eight studios and/or streamers were seeking the rights, with names in the mix including Jordan Peele’s company Monkeypaw, Osgood Perkins and Neon, and even Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan!
Deadline heard that Texas native Taylor Sheridan is interested in serving as a producer on a future Texas Chainsaw Massacre project, but wouldn’t be writing or directing it. Osgood Perkins is hoping to have the chance to write a Chainsaw screenplay with The Strangers writer/director Bryan Bertino, and Perkins would then produce the film for Neon while Bertino would direct it. JT Mollner and Roy Lee have teamed up with A24 for a TV series pitch that would have Texas native Glen Powell involved, but not starring. If that doesn’t pan out, Lee also has a feature film pitch for a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie that would be set up at Netflix.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights are held by a company called Exurbia Films, which is run by Kim Henkel, the co-writer of the original movie, his son, Ian Henkel, and a producer named Pat Cassidy, who is called the “curator” of the TCM franchise on Instagram. Exurbia made $2.75 million from the rights deal that resulted in the 2022 film, and are reportedly hoping to get $3 million for the new deal. Official talks started a couple months ago, with Verve and Exurbia fielding offers from interested collaborators. The competition brings to mind the tagline for the original film, “Who will survive, and what will be left of them?”
Now, Bloody Disgusting reports that Perkins discussed the situation during the Neon panel at San Diego Comic-Con. He said, “My producing partners and I, we went down a path with Texas Chainsaw. To be honest with you, I don’t know what’s happening with it, but we were certainly in the conversation for it. What’s lovely about these people who own the rights — it’s the original writer [Kim Henkel] — is that they really care about Leatherface. There’s a fondness about his character and the idea that he saw bad things when he was younger, and because he is neurodivergent, he had his difficulties processing, and that’s when turned him into a quote ‘monster.’ It goes back to Frankenstein or wherever you want to be with monsters that are usually the misunderstood, sensitive type.”
Perkins went on to say, “The rights holders provided us with a guide book that they had put together. ‘These are the things that we think are important, these are the things we’d love to see, these are the things we don’t like,’ so on and so forth. One of the things was ‘Leatherface should never have a love interest.’ My partners and I were like, ‘Well, now you’ve said it!’“
As for Mollner… well, he simply posted an image of Leatherface from the original film on social media, stirring up speculation that he (and, presumably, A24) may have come out the winner of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre bidding war. Of course, he could just be a fan of the image. We’ll have to keep waiting to see how all of this is going to play out.
Who would you like to see land the rights to make the next Texas Chainsaw Massacre project? Taylor Sheridan, Osgood Perkins / Bryan Bertino / Neon, JT Mollner / Roy Lee / A24, Roy Lee / Netflix, Jordan Peele, or someone else entirely? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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