A24, JT Mollner & Glen Powell Team For ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Series, New Movie Also In Works

A24 has secured the rights to another legacy horror series, as they’ll be developing a series based on the world of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” with JT Mollner and Glen Powell getting into the mix.

After a bidding war, A24 has walked away with the ability to make both a series and a movie accoring to The Hollywood Reporter. Powell is attached as an executive producer (notably, not set to star, which could change over time) on the new series with Moller attached to direct (they clarify that he won’t be directing the feature version).

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Mollner is coming off his acclaimed thriller “Strange Darling” and adapted the Stephen King book “The Long Walk” for the recent Lionsgate feature film helmed by Francis Lawrence. Powell previously wrote the Richard Linklater film “Hit Man,” which he also starred in.

Late genre filmmaker Tobe Hooper co-created the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” with Kim Henkel, as the 1974 film helped usher in a new era of gritty and gory horror genre, inspiring multiple copycats (Ridley Scott cites the landmark horror flick as key inspiration for the original “Alien“). It features a family of rural serial killers (influenced by real ones like the infamous Ed Gein) that not only kill and play with their victims, but also eat them. It would go on to spawn multiple sequels and reboots, with the last installment released as a Netflix exclusive in 2022, from director David Blue Garcia and produced/co-written by Fede Álvarez.

Other execs on the horror project are Roy Lee and Steven Schneider via Spooky Pictures, Stuart Manashil, Image Nation‘s Ben Ross, Powell, and Dan Cohen of Barnstorm, and Exurbia Films‘ Henkel (who co-created with Hooper), Ian Henkel, and Pat Cassidy will produce as well.

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This news comes after A24 has been working on a prequel series exploring the lore of the slasher franchise “Friday the 13th” as “Crystal Lake” will see beloved actress Linda Cardellini (“The Founder”) playing a young version of Jason Vorhees’ mother Pamela Vorhees, the original killer from the first feature film.

Interestingly enough, early in his career, fellow Texan actor Matthew McConaughey starred alongside Renée Zellweger in the 1995 sequel “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.” So, seeing Powell being involved feels like it harkens back to McConaughey getting to play one of the dastardly serial killers from the longstanding horror franchise. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he’ll change his mind and take a role.