# Leatherface
**Leatherface** is a fictional serial killer and the central antagonist of *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974) and its sequels, reboots, and reimaginings, a franchise that has grown to nine films since the original's release.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) • [2](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/a24-and-glen-powell-are-reviving-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-as-a-tv-show-and-its-got-me-revved-up-for-all-of-the-wrong-reasons) Created by director [Tobe Hooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobe-hooper) and co-writer Kim Henkel, he is a large, mostly mute butcher who wears masks made of human skin and kills with a chainsaw as his signature weapon, working alongside a cannibalistic family in rural Texas.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) He was first portrayed by [Gunnar Hansen](https://www.edgepedia.org/gunnar-hansen).[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974), directed by Tobe Hooper and co-written by Kim Henkel[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) |
| Original actor | Gunnar Hansen, who died of pancreatic cancer at age 68 in November 2015[3](https://time.com/4104277/texas-chainsaw-leatherface-hansen/) |
| Signature traits | Masks made of human skin; a chainsaw as his main weapon; near-muteness, communicating in grunts and screams[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) • [4](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf) |
| Family | Member of the cannibalistic Sawyer family in the original continuity; renamed the Hewitt family in the 2003 remake[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline) |
| Real-world inspiration | The crimes of serial killer Ed Gein, cited by Hooper and Henkel[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) |
| Franchise size | Nine films as of the 2022 Netflix release, plus comics, a novel, and video game adaptations[2](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/a24-and-glen-powell-are-reviving-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-as-a-tv-show-and-its-got-me-revved-up-for-all-of-the-wrong-reasons) |
| Rights holder | A24, which won the franchise rights in 2026 and announced a TV series directed by JT Mollner with Glen Powell producing[6](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/texas-chainsaw-massacre-reboot-a24/) |
## The 1974 film
In *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*, a group of friends traveling in rural Texas falls prey to a cannibalistic family, and Leatherface is among the killers. The Handbook of Texas describes him as a former butcher and intellectually impaired man who wears masks of human skin and uses a chainsaw.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) The film was produced for around $140,000 and grossed more than $30 million domestically, making it the most successful entry in the series by return on investment.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974)
**The masks.** Leatherface wears three masks in the original film, each tied to a different role. [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast) describes a "Killing Mask" worn while hunting, an "Old Lady" mask for domestic functions such as cooking, and a "Pretty Woman" mask worn at the dining room table, in which role he becomes the object of his family's abuse.[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/wild-new-texas-chainsaw-massacre-theory-changes-everything-you-think-about-leatherface/) A 2025 academic study argues that, unlike most slasher killers who hide behind a single mask, Leatherface embodies the identities his masks represent, with each persona expressed through wigs, clothes, voice, and body language.[8](https://ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/J-ICSLAC/article/view/4983)
**Monster and victim.** The film positions Leatherface as both monster and victim, bullied into his dirty work by his cannibalistic family; the critic Jason Zinoman, writing in The Independent, compares him to the misunderstood creature of *Frankenstein* rather than a garden-variety slasher villain, and notes that the film makes audiences empathize with its scariest figure without diminishing the horror.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/texas-chainsaw-massacre-horror-films-x-b2042205.html) The Daily Beast calls empathy for Leatherface practically the consensus perspective on the character.[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/wild-new-texas-chainsaw-massacre-theory-changes-everything-you-think-about-leatherface/)
## Creation and inspirations
Hooper and Henkel drew on the crimes of the serial killer [Ed Gein](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-gein) to shape Leatherface and his family.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) Hooper also cited a story from his childhood: his family doctor described a [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) mask made from a cadaver, which Hooper identified as an inspiration for the character.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) The chainsaw itself came to Hooper in December 1972, when, frustrated in a crowded [Montgomery Ward](https://www.edgepedia.org/montgomery-ward) store during Christmas shopping in Austin, he found himself staring at a display rack of chain saws and imagined a way to get through the crowd quickly; he said the whole story came to him within seconds afterward.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974)
The character's near-silence was also a deliberate construction. Hooper recounted that, to develop Leatherface's strident grunts and screams, he visited a friend's farm because he wanted the character to sound like a pig.[10](https://as.com/meristation/cine/un-paseo-de-compras-navidenas-lleno-de-colas-inspiro-al-creador-de-un-clasico-del-cine-de-terror-prohibido-en-11-paises-f202610-n/) Hansen described the character as defined for him as someone severely mentally retarded and severely mentally disturbed.[11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0360815/quotes/)
## Names and continuity
The character's name changes across the franchise's timelines, which have repeatedly reset. In the original continuity he is a member of the Sawyer family; the 1986 sequel *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2* gives the family its surname and refers to him as Bubba.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline) The 2003 remake by [Marcus Nispel](https://www.edgepedia.org/marcus-nispel) renamed the family the Hewitts and the character Thomas Hewitt, an entirely separate continuity.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline) Later entries returned to the Sawyer name: *Texas Chainsaw 3D* (2013) and the 2017 prequel *Leatherface* form a standalone trilogy with the 1974 film, and the 2022 Netflix film *Texas Chainsaw Massacre* is another direct sequel to the original.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline)
## Franchise appearances
The nine-film canon runs from the 1974 original through the 2022 Netflix release.[2](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/a24-and-glen-powell-are-reviving-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-as-a-tv-show-and-its-got-me-revved-up-for-all-of-the-wrong-reasons) Hooper himself returned for *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2* (1986), which doubled down on the original's dark humor; *[Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III](https://www.edgepedia.org/leatherface-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-iii)* (1990) gave the character a giant silver chainsaw named "Excalibur"; and *Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation* (1995), directed by Kim Henkel, featured a cross-dressing Leatherface.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline) The 2003 remake is often credited with kick-starting the horror remake craze of the 2000s, and its 2006 prequel, *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning*, shows the character before he dons his trademark skinned mask.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline)
**The 2017 prequel.** *Leatherface* (2017), directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, is set in the 1950s and explores the character's childhood and teenage years, following asylum escapees who take a nurse hostage; the film reveals only in its final act which patient grows up to be Leatherface.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline) Its producers described the aim as exploring what happened early in life that turned him into a monster.[4](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf) In this continuity the character is locked away in a mental institution under a new name as a child, and the film ends with him sewing his tormentors' faces into a mask and wearing it for the first time.[12](https://www.holidayhorrordatabase.com/post/happy-texas-chain-saw-day-the-life-of-leatherface)
**The 2022 film.** *Texas Chainsaw Massacre* (2022) follows a group of young influencers who visit the ghost town of Harlow, Texas, and encounter [Leatherface](https://www.edgepedia.org/leatherface-2017-film), who reemerges for the first time since 1974.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline)
## Legacy
Leatherface has become a popular culture icon, and the 1974 film is credited with pioneering the use of power tools as movie murder weapons and portraying killers as masked, remorseless murderers.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) The character's production notes credit him with establishing the image of a large, silent killer devoid of personality, a device that became common in horror almost immediately afterward, from [Jason Voorhees](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-voorhees)'s hockey mask in *Friday the 13th* to Michael Myers in *Halloween* and Ghostface in *Scream*.[4](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf) The 1974 film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975 and 2014, entered the [Museum of Modern Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/museum-of-modern-art)'s permanent collection in 1981, and was selected for the [National Film Registry](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-registry) in 2024.[1](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974)
The franchise's future lies with A24, which won the rights in a competitive bidding process and announced in February 2026 a television series directed by JT Mollner, the writer of *The Long Walk*, with [Glen Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/glen-powell)'s Barnstorm producing and a feature film in early development alongside it.[6](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/texas-chainsaw-massacre-reboot-a24/) Mollner called the original "the gold standard for horror" and described the series as a long-form exploration of the world Hooper and Henkel created.[6](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/texas-chainsaw-massacre-reboot-a24/)
## References
1. [The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974)
2. [A24 and Glen Powell are reviving The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a TV show, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/a24-and-glen-powell-are-reviving-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-as-a-tv-show-and-its-got-me-revved-up-for-all-of-the-wrong-reasons)
3. [Actor Who Played 'Texas Chain Saw' Villain Dies at 68, Time](https://time.com/4104277/texas-chainsaw-leatherface-hansen/)
4. [Leatherface Production Notes, Kinepolis (2017)](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf)
5. [A Complete Timeline of the 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Films, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/texas-chainsaw-massacre-movies-timeline)
6. [A24 to Reboot 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' With TV Series and Film, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/texas-chainsaw-massacre-reboot-a24/)
7. [Wild New 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Theory Changes Everything You Think About Leatherface, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/wild-new-texas-chainsaw-massacre-theory-changes-everything-you-think-about-leatherface/)
8. [GG Dascal (2025). Self-Fashioning Styles of Flesh: Liminal Gender Performance in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Scaffold: Journal of the Institute of Comparative Studies in Literature, Arts and Culture 2(1)](https://ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/J-ICSLAC/article/view/4983)
9. [The long shadow of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' looms over the horror genre, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/texas-chainsaw-massacre-horror-films-x-b2042205.html)
10. [Un paseo de compras navideñas lleno de colas inspiró al creador de un clásico del cine de terror, MeriStation (AS)](https://as.com/meristation/cine/un-paseo-de-compras-navidenas-lleno-de-colas-inspiro-al-creador-de-un-clasico-del-cine-de-terror-prohibido-en-11-paises-f202610-n/)
11. [Gunnar Hansen Quotes, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0360815/quotes/)
12. [Happy Texas Chain Saw Day: The Life of Leatherface, Holiday Horror Database](https://www.holidayhorrordatabase.com/post/happy-texas-chain-saw-day-the-life-of-leatherface)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › Horror film characters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license