Leatherface is back and he’s ready to slaughter lots more attractive young people in the Lone Star State. And it’s officially coming to Netflix in early 2022. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a direct sequel to the original 1974 classic, from director David Blue Garcia. In addition to the release date, we have our first images from the film, as well as an glimpse at the plot.
Here’s the official synopsis from Netflix:
“Melody (Sarah Yarkin), her teenage sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), and their friends Dante (Jacob Latimore) and Ruth (Nell Hudson), head to the remote town of Harlow, Texas. All in the hopes of starting an idealistic new business venture. But their dream soon turns into a waking nightmare. They accidentally disrupt the home of Leatherface, the deranged serial killer whose blood-soaked legacy continues to haunt the area’s residents. Among them, Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), the sole survivor of his infamous 1973 massacre who’s hell-bent on seeking revenge.”
According to producer Fede Alvarez, this new version picks up many, many years after the original, which is definitely still in canon here. In fact the two movies have different names, technically. The 1974 film was THE Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this one removes the “The.” Alvarez tells Entertainment Weekly that Leatherface has “been in hiding for a long, long time, trying to be a good person. These people arriving in this town are going to awaken the giant.”
Alongside Alvarez, Kim Henkel, who co-wrote the original film, is a producer. And this time, Chris Thomas Devlin is writing the screenplay.
Although the new film is a direct sequel to the original, unlike Halloween 2018, it doesn’t necessarily ignore the other entries in the franchise. Alvarez loves Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, for example. But he admits, the rest of the series is kind of a mess in terms of continuity. (Although there are far worse offenders out there). 2013’s Texas Chainsaw 3D and 2017’s Leatherface were also only tied to the original film, but this new one definitely seems like it won’t reference them. In the end, Alvarez says the franchise “is such a mess canon-wise. I think it’s up to you to decide when and how the events of the other movies happen.”
Texas Chainsaw Massacre has its Netflix debut on February 18, 2022.
Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.
