There may not be many fans of the movie out there, but those who really enjoyed this year’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequelLeatherfaceare out of luck, assuming they want to see that story continue on.Leatherfacehad a very troubled road in terms of getting a release and that actually got in the way of the rights for the franchise. Since Campbell Grobman Films and Millennium Films, the two studios behind the recentTexas Chainsawmovies, took so long to releaseLeatherface, they lost the rights to the franchise. With that, a reboot is inevitable.
The news was confirmed by producerChrista Campbell, who has championedLeatherfaceand says she’s proud of it. Proud or not,Leatherface was something of a bomband, given the quality, the studio couldn’t settle on a release strategy and that has led to this lapse in rights. That has major implications for the future of the iconic horror series, but it’s hard to say where it’s heading at the present time. Here’s what Campbell had to say about it on Twitter after a fan asked about a potentialLeatherfacesequel.
“I loved this film and I’m very proud. Unfortunately because of the time it took to release it we lost the rights sadly… so no…not from us at least.”
That “not from us” bit is important.Leatherfacewas a prequel that tells the origin story of the famedkiller from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So an actual, direct sequel seems unlikely, for that reason alone. But some sort of continuation isn’t out of the question, at least in theory. But if not Campbell Grobman Films/Millennium Films, then who? At the moment, it’s unclear where the franchise rights are and what’s going to happen with them.
Ultimately, this could be a good thing. TheTexas Chainsaw Massacre franchiseis something of a mess. The original classic spawned four sequels, ending withThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. In 2003, the original movie received the remake treatment. Then, a prequel in the form ofTexas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginningwas released. That brings us to the current line of movies, which starts withTexas Chainsaw 3D. That movie serves as a sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original. That was followed by this year’sLeatherface, which officially ends this line of movies. Probably.
Somebody, whoever holds the franchise rights, is probably going to do aTexas Chainsawreboot at some point. Even thoughLeatherfacebombed, there’s money to be made. That said, they could continue the story told in the most recent movies, as hinted at byChrista Campbellin her tweet. But that seems far less likely. The more likely scenario? A full-on reboot. Horror franchises rarely die. They are merely reborn, for better or for worse.
