Up-and-coming genre scribe Seth M. Sherwood has been hired to write a prequel to the original 1974 horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” titled simply “Leatherface,” an individual familiar with the Millennium Films project has told TheWrap.
Official plot details are being kept under wraps, though the new film is expected to serve as an origin story that follows Leatherface’s early years in the 1970s.
Alexandra Daddario starred in last year’s “Texas Chainsaw” movie as Leatherface’s long-lost cousin, but it’s currently unclear whether she would return, given the bloody timeline of the series. If she does, it would likely be a cameo appearance as another character, such as a different member of Leatherface’s extended family.
Also read: Marilyn Burns, Star of Original ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, Dead at 64
Carl Mazzocone is producing “Leatherface,” while Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman will serve as executive producers. Campbell and Grobman fought hard to resurrect the franchise and the genre buffs are excited to get started on the next installment.
Millennium Films is financing the project and will sell international rights. Millennium executives Beth Bruckner and Christine Crow are overseeing “Leatherface” for the studio.
Production could start as soon as this winter, with a director expected to sign on in the coming weeks.
Also read: ‘Texas Chainsaw’ Rips Through ‘Django,’ ‘Hobbit,’ ‘Les Miz’ at Box Office
Sherwood has several projects percolating around town including a supernatural thriller at Blumhouse that will be directed by Greg Plotkin (“Paranormal Activity 5”). He also wrote a psychological thriller titled “Interstate 5” that was voted to the 2012 Blood List. Described as a cross between “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Natural Born Killers,” the story follows a serial killer’s son and the daughter of one of his victims as they team up to find the maniac, only to be haunted by demonic forces intent on driving them mad.
Sherwood, who also wrote, produced and co-directed the short film “Fruitcake,” is represented by manager Kailey Marsh and attorney Josh Sandler at Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP.
Grobman recently earned an Emmy nomination for the documentary “Brave Miss World.”