A new image from Netflix's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot reveals the first look at the return of the franchise's original Final Girl. The sole survivor of the events of the original 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was Sally Hardesty, played by Marilyn Burns. She, along with her brother and several friends, went to rural Texas to investigate desecrations at the local cemetery where her grandfather was buried, whereupon everyone but her was murdered by Leatherface and his family.
The character continued to be referenced in the opening narration of the next two films, and was supposed to have died in 1977 according to Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. Marilyn Burns returned to the franchise twice, however, once to play a version of Sally Hardesty in a non-speaking cameo in the final scene of 1994's Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, and once to play Leatherface's relative Verna in a brief scene in 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D. Although she passed away in 2014, the character of Sally Hardesty will be returning in the 2022 film.
USA Today shared a brand new image from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre showing Sally's triumphant return. The character is depicted behind the wheel of a car looking at an old Polaroid, potentially the one taken by The Hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) when he was menacing Sally and her friends during the opening act of the movie. Sally is now played by Olwen Fouéré, who is best known for her roles in This Must Be the Place, The Survivalist, and Mandy. Check out the full-size image below:
Much like Texas Chainsaw 3D before it, the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be largely a direct sequel to the original film, ignoring the gnarled continuity that came afterward. The film, which hits Netflix on February 18, was directed by David Blue Garcia from Chris Thomas Devlin's screenplay, based on a story by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. The movie will star a fresh crop of actors including Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Jacob Latimore, Moe Dunford, Alice Krige, Jessica Allain, Nell Hudson, and Mark Burnham as Leatherface.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a long-running series, but it has perhaps the least consistent track record of any of the major slasher franchises, especially in terms of continuity. If the Netflix film is a success, hopefully the franchise can rejuvenate itself and give fans a more satisfying throughline. At the very least, their inclusion of Sally Hardesty as a major character for the first time since 1974 certainly indicates their intention to do so.
Source: USA Today