Texas Chainsaw Massacre Producer Claims Previous Sequels Likely Still Canon

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Netflix has billed itself as being a direct sequel to the original 1974 film, which excited some fans but disappointed other fans who enjoyed previous sequels in the series, though producer Fede Álvarez recently weighed in on the series' canon, noting that he still thinks those previous films could still potentially exist in the overall mythology. With the events of this latest film not directly negating the events of those adventures, it would ultimately seem as though it's up to each individual viewer which films fit into the overall storyline. The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre hits Netflix on February 18th.

"You see a photo of young Leatherface... an old picture from the late '70s," Álvarez shared with Bloody Disgusting's The Boo Crew podcast. "The logic for me is that Leatherface, after the crimes of the original movie, just ran away. [His new mother figure] took pity on him... saw that he was mentally challenged and scared and probably did some terrible things."

The filmmaker added, "She took him in under her wing. Probably... I think.... a lot of the movies that happened after [the original] still happened. He probably escaped, ya know. He was in and out of that place for a long time. I think she probably gave him enough chances as movies [that] happened. And then it got to a point that he settled down. He just stayed there."

Horror fans recently saw a similar approach to reviving a somewhat dormant franchise with 2018's Halloween, whose plot included elements that actively contradict events that unfolded in other sequels. This latest Texas Chainsaw sequel explores the concept that Leatherface has seemingly evaded capture for all these years, without negating the crimes he committed in other films. Of course, the viewer has to deduce that the figure has managed to murder a number of people with a chainsaw and got away with it, but it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility for the series.

With his previous crimes being connected to the Sawyer family, the producer noted that he thinks his new maternal figure would be disapproving of them, as he expressed, "I don't think she likes the Sawyers. I think she's a really good lady. She hasn't been doing anything bad. Anything wrong. She doesn't want him to kill."

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

What do you think about the filmmaker's remarks? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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