2022's Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was released directly to Netflix, earning poor reviews.

A new report from Deadline reveals that a new take on Texas Chainsaw Massacre could be on the way. Bidding will open on Monday for the rights to the franchise, with between five and eight studios/ streamers competing. Verve, the company that has repped the rights to the franchise since 2017, is overseeing the bidding. According to the report, various studios and creatives are now pitching Verve on their vision for the franchise, but no frontrunners have emerged just yet. There are, however, several big names now in the running.

Sheridan, who would serve only as a producer on a new franchise installment, is one such figure who is reportedly interested. Peele and his company, Monkeypaw, have also emerged as a new party interested in the rights. Like Sheridan, Peele would be involved in a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie only as a producer.

Longlegs director Oz Perkins, who would produce and co-write with Bryan Bertino, is also in the running through NEON. J.T. Mollner (Strange Darling) and producer Roy Lee are also vying to bring a TV take on the IP to life, with Glen Powell said to be involved in a non-starring capacity. Lee also has a movie vision for the IP, however, which would land at Netflix.

What This Means For Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Sheridan & Peele's Previous Work Explained

Sheridan is best known as the creative behind the Yellowstone universe, with his other TV shows including Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lioness, and Landman. Sheridan also penned the scripts for movies like Sicario (2015), Hell or High Water (2016), and Wind River (2017), the latter of which he also directed. Sheridan was born in Texas and the state has been a major part of many of his movie and TV projects, making it no surprise that he is interested in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Sheridan, however, has no experience writing, directing, or producing in the horror genre.

Peele, on the other hand, is best known for horror. After getting his start in comedy, Peele directed movies like Get Out (2017), Us (2019), and Nope (2022), in addition to producing horror projects like Lovecraft Country and Candyman (2021). The first installment in the franchise is a horror classic, but essentially all subsequent Texas Chainsaw Massacre projects have been poorly-received by critics, meaning either Sheridan or Peele would have an opportunity to revitalize the IP in a major way.

2022's Texas Chainsaw Massacre has only a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Our Take On A New Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie

Which Creative Should Take The Franchise On?

Sheridan is arguably an unusual choice to produce a new Leatherface story given all of his past work. Still, his work is generally well-received by critics and extremely popular with viewers. His input could be what's needed to steer the horror franchise down an exciting new path.

Peele is the more obvious choice here as a producer, but it would be especially interesting to see him take this on as a director given his unique horror history. It remains to be seen who will win the Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights, but it certainly sounds like there's some fierce competition.

Source: Deadline