"TX25" Texas Chainsaw Massacre 5

Very interesting, thanks for this. I must admit that I wasn't really familiar with this.

After the troubled production of the 4th film in the series, Kim Henkel's The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994), which sat in limbo for a few years, only to come back for a limited theatrical run in 1997, now re-titled as TCM: The Next Generation. I know that Kim himself was reluctant to film it and did it mostly as a means to keep the rights going.

After the underwhelming performance of Chainsaw 4, I guess the state of the franchise was uncertain and they were probably weary to proceed with any sequels. With Tony's All American Massacre, I'm not sure if it was ever envisioned as an official sequel, and even early on it seems like it would have had a digital, online release. As it has been said, Tony really just wanted to do it originally to demonstrate his video effects skills, and it seems like a mostly small project done with friends, probably not supported or endorsed by Vortex in any official capacity--which I think is still a factor in why it's been unreleased, honestly.

I know AAM itself was being made around Chain Saw's 25th anniversary, and was commemorating that in some ways. Not sure the timeline here as far as what came first, AAM or this TX25. The TX25 seems like it would have been the official acknowledgment of this event, but I'm curious on the involvement Kim/Tobe and Vortex Inc. had on it. Of course, the follow up film we would end up actually getting was the Platinum Dunes remake in 2003, shot in '02 by Marcus Nispel and his long-time DP, Daniel Pearl (who shot the original Chain Saw with Tobe in 1973). A remake was probably a better idea for a sell, and I'm sure they felt safer about it turning over some profit than yet another sequel/prequel.

What I wonder most of all about TX2000: would it have been shot in Austin... or even Texas at all? All of the Chain Saw films have been, with the exception of Part 3 in 1990 (California), Chainsaw 3D in 2013 (Louisiana), and Leatherface in 2017 (...Bulgaria). Would Tobe or Kim have had much involvement? They did the first one together, Tobe did part 2 and Kim did Return/NextGen (Part 4). Tony would have done AAM (essentially Chainsaw 5), so you still have the family connection. Even 2003's Texas Chainsaw Massacre has the connection to the original with Daniel Pearl.