Directors Andy and Ryan Tohill quit Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel a week into production

Production on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie has been overhauled a week into filming following the departure of directors Andy and Ryan Tohill.

The Northern Irish twin brothers, who made their feature directorial debut with 2018's The Dig, were hired for the project, which is being produced by Don't Breathe's Fede Alvarez, in February, before the coronavirus pandemic led to movie sets being shut down, and filming finally got underway in Bulgaria last week.

However, according to Deadline, the production encountered some issues within the first week and the Tohills exited the project due to creative differences over the weekend.

A source told the publication that officials for financier Legendary weren't happy with the footage that was shot and made the switch, with them deciding to scrap the existing footage and draft in cinematographer David Blue Garcia to direct the movie from scratch.

The project, which stars Elsie Fisher, Sarah Yarkin, Jacob Latimore, and Moe Dunford, is intended to pick up where Tobe Hooper's 1974 original left off. The horror followed two siblings and three of their friends who are visiting their grandfather’s grave in Texas. They end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths, led by the character Leatherface.

The movie was a box office success and led to three sequels before the original was rebooted in 2003, followed by a prequel in 2006. Texas Chainsaw 3D, designed as a direct sequel to the 1974 movie, was released in 2013 and an origins story titled Leatherface came out in 2017.

The latest instalment was written by Chris Thomas Devlin. Alvarez is producing with Bad Hombre’s Rodolfo Sayagues through their deal with Legendary, along with Kim Henkel, who co-wrote the first movie with Hooper, Ian Henkel, and Pat Cassidy via their Exurbia Films banner.