Movies
‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Franchise Carving Out Television Series, New Film Deal [Exclusive]
Bloody Disgusting was the first to tell you that the rights to Halloween had escaped the clutches of The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films, which led to Blumhouse and Universal Pictures aligning to bring us a new entry this coming October. Now, we’re hearing that Leatherface is in search of a new home…again.
Last October, Lionsgate released Leatherface, a prequel to Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that was produced by Millenium Films. Sources told us before the film’s release that rights had turned back over to Kim Henkel, writer and producer on the 1974 slasher classic and also director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). We’ve been quietly poking around for the past year and are just now learning that Leatherface and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are on the cusp of finding a new home.
We can exclusively report that Legendary Entertainment/Legendary Pictures are in the mix (I am stressing this hard) to develop not only a television series based on the original slasher masterpiece, but also more films. With or without Legendary, a series and more films are inevitable.
This would be huge news for more than one reason. First, it was questionable if the franchise had any life left after the previous two disappointments, Texas Chainsaw 3D and Leatherface. Legendary, who is behind the Godzilla and King Kong shared universe, has the power to revitalize the franchise with big talent, both in writing and directing.
But here’s where speculation can run wild – it was reported a little over a week ago that Legendary was nearing a renewed distribution deal with WARNER BROS. PICTURES. Let’s talk this out together. Warner Bros. is the parent company to New Line Cinema, who is home to, yes, Freddy Krueger and the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Also, assuming the ongoing lawsuit doesn’t get in the way, the rights to Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise will return to them by early 2019. If Texas Chain Saw were to end up with Legendary, it is 100% possible that we could see a shared universe between Jason, Freddy and Leatherface, which was once a possibility when New Line Cinema controlled all three properties years back.
Legendary is no joke and can deliver some serious talent to the Texas franchise. They produced both Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat and Krampus, and also hired him to direct next year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Adam Wingard, a known Texas Chain Saw superfan, is in pre-production on Godzilla vs. Kong. They’re also behind Netflix’s “Lost in Space”, which gives them a strong relationship with the streaming service. Also, if Legendary were to win the slasher lottery, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have a distribution deal with the modern horror king in James Wan, who directed the first two Conjuring films for them, and has produced Lights Out, both Annabelle films (and the forthcoming third), as well as the next Conjuring spinoffs, The Nun and The Crooked Man.
With a company like Legendary backing the Saw, there is no ceiling to where Leatherface can end up…
After pulling in $28 million at the worldwide box office this month, director (and star) Dev Patel’s critically acclaimed action-thriller Monkey Man is now available to watch at home.
You can rent Monkey Man for $19.99 or digitally purchase the film for $24.99!
Monkey Man is currently 88% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with Bloody Disgusting’s head critic Meagan Navarro awarding the film 4.5/5 stars in her review out of SXSW back in March.
Meagan raves, “While the violence onscreen is palpable and painful, it’s not just the exquisite fight choreography and thrilling action set pieces that set Monkey Man apart but also its political consciousness, unique narrative structure, and myth-making scale.”
“While Monkey Man pays tribute to all of the action genre’s greats, from the Indonesian action classics to Korean revenge cinema and even a John Wick joke or two, Dev Patel’s cultural spin and unique narrative structure leave behind all influences in the dust for new terrain,” Meagan’s review continues.
She adds, “Monkey Man presents Dev Patel as a new action hero, a tenacious underdog with a penetrating stare who bites, bludgeons, and stabs his way through bodies to gloriously bloody excess. More excitingly, the film introduces Patel as a strong visionary right out of the gate.”
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Monkey Man is produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
‘Mountain Man’ – Joe Manganiello Will Battle Zombies in Upcoming Horror Movie
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
‘Trap’ – Official Trailer Previews a Wild New Horror Experience from M. Night Shyamalan
‘The Exorcism’ – Russell Crowe Stars in Horror Movie Formerly Titled ‘The Georgetown Project’
You must be logged in to post a comment.