Obsession director Curry Barker set to direct Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot

Following a tense bidding war between multiple studios, A24 emerged victorious with the IP to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise last February, and developments continue to be released on what the prestigious company has planned for Leatherface and his family of cannibals.

Late Tuesday, Variety reported that filmmaker Curry Barker will take up the bloody mantle and direct the upcoming "reimagining," as insiders have been referring to it, of Tobe Hooper's and Kim Henkel's 1974 slasher staple. Barker has been on a fantastic run in the horror genre, with his low-budget feature debut Milk and Serial racking up over two million views on YouTube and catapulting him into making his sophomore feature Obsession which incited a bidding war that ended in a price tag of $14 million. Barker is currently underway on his third feature film, Anything but Ghosts. However, it looks like once the camera wraps on that, the young director will saddle up and get rolling on a latest installment of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Barker helming the franchise is more than an exciting development. His upcoming film Obsession has been a festival hit, taking home awards at Overlook Film Fest, Panic Fest and South by Southwest. Barker's background is not just horror but also comedy, which puts him in a good spot for Chainsaw, because let's face it, there are some moments in the original that are darkly funny.

Mark Burnham as Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022

Plot details are currently under wraps. All that is known is that Barker's film has been called a "reimagining" of the 1974 original, so it's safe to assume that the franchise will be stepping away from any sequel or prequel territory like the previous three films in the franchise (Texas Chainsaw 3D, Leatherface and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022). This will be the 10th installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, only four years after Netflix's take on the chainsaw wielding maniac.

Barker's Texas Chainsaw Massacre film will be produced at Spooky Pictures with Roy Lee (Weapons, The Long Walk, Strange Darling) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Dolly) as well as Exurbia Film's Pat Cassidy (Chain Reactions, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022), Stuart Manashil (Boy Kills World, To Catch a Killer) with Ian Henkel (Butcher Boys, Chain Reactions) and Kim Henkel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation). There is also no scheduled release date for the film.

This isn't the only forthcoming Texas Chainsaw project. Alongside the 10th film, A24 is also developing a Texas Chainsaw TV series with Hollywood A-lister and native Texan Glen Powel and Dan Cohen with JT Mollner (Strange Darling, The Long Walk) slated to direct the series. The series is also still in the early stages of development with no news on casting or a release date. However, since A24's Crystal Lake series recently wrapped up, I can't imagine the wait will be too long until cameras start rolling on their attempt to bring Leatherface to the small screen. It is also unknown if the series and film will be connected to each other somehow or remain separate.

Overall, A24 looks to be getting good use out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre IP following their bidding war win. Between Barker's reimagining and JT Mollner's TV series, it's safe to say that Leatherface and his cannibalistic clan are back and the slaughterhouse is open for business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMC8kkwbIQQ

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