It looks like a classic horror franchise could be on the cusp of a major revival. A new report claims that Legendary, amongst others, are in the running to develop not only new Texas Chain Saw Massacre movies, but a TV series based on the horror icon Leatherface as well. At the present time, it isn't clear what other studios may be looking to get in on the action, as Legendary was the only one named specifically, but this could be a major turning point in modern horror for several reasons.

The franchise hasn't been in a great place as of late. Texas Chainsaw 3D proved to be majorly disappointing. Fans had hope that last year's prequel Leatherface would manage to breathe some fresh air into it, but that proved to not be the case. Even before the release of Leatherface, the rights to the franchise had reverted back to Kim Henkel, who wrote and produced the original 1974 horror classic, The Texas Chains Saw Massacre, directed by the late Tobe Hooper.

It appears as though Kim Henkel is looking to set up shop with a major studio. If Legendary does indeed wind up being the studio that locks this deal down, it could be just what the franchise needs. Legendary is in control of such franchises as Godzilla and has a lot of major resources to court big name talent for this possible TV series and new Texas Chain Saw movies. This report stresses that both the TV series and new movies would be part of the deal. There is no word on what the TV series would possibly be about, only that it's a big part of this new deal being worked out behind the scenes.

Legendary recently teamed up again with Warner Bros. after a few years of setting up shop at Universal. As this new report notes, that's a possibly huge key for this whole thing. Warner Bros. already controls the rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which means Freddy Krueger is in their horror stable. Pending the results of the ongoing lawsuit, Warner Bros. also will quite possibly own the rights to Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise. If Legendary actually secures this deal, that would mean Leatherface, Freddy and Jason could all be owned by the same studio. Rarely has there ever been such a clear path to a shared horror universe.

Much of that is speculative and relies on the outcome of the Friday the 13th lawsuit and this possible deal for the Texas Chain Saw rights. Still, one has to imagine that's a consideration for Legendary in pursuing the deal. For now, this should be regarded as a rumor until we hear word from some official sources. But it's a very intriguing rumor and one that would seem to make a whole lot of sense. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as the situation develops. This news comes to us courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.