Texas Chainsaw Massacre: First Look at Returning Fan-Favorite Character Unveiled

Throughout all corners of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, the uniting components have been the villainous Leatherface and the Sawyer family, but with the upcoming sequel on Netflix serving as a direct continuation of 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it will see the return of Sally Hardesty from that film for the first time. Sally was originally played by Marilyn Burns, who passed away in 2014, with this upcoming film seeing Olwen Fouéré taking on the role. You can check out the first look at the character in the upcoming film below before the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre hits Netflix on February 18th.

Netflix describes the new film, “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 to start an idealistic new business venture. But their dream soon turns into a waking nightmare when they accidentally disrupt the home of Leatherface, the deranged serial killer whose blood-soaked legacy continues to haunt the area’s residents — including Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), the sole survivor of his infamous 1973 massacre who’s hell-bent on seeking revenge.”

In the nearly 50 years since audiences first met Leatherface, the series has delivered sequels, prequels, reboots, and reboot prequels, creating a largely confusing timeline for the more casual fan. Understandably, by making this film a direct sequel to the original, it makes the film more accessible, but producer Fede Álvarez previously teased that, while you don’t need to have seen other entries, this film doesn’t negate their events necessarily.

“When I say ‘direct sequel’ I wouldn’t say it skips everything,” Álvarez confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. “When movies do that, sometimes it feels a bit disrespectful to all the other films. Some people love Texas Chainsaw 2. I love a lot of things about that movie — it’s so wacky and of its time. But the rest 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.”

In recent years, the Halloween franchise earned a number of new entries that followed this direct-sequel premise, yet it actively negated elements of the mythology that were introduced in previous installments, with Álvarez’s comments likely implying this new film won’t contradict previous entries so much as avoid incorporating them. 

The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre hits Netflix on February 18th.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!