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I just watched the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2013) and I don't understand where the name Sawyer came in. In the original as well as the version with Jessica Beil, the name was Hewitt. "Footage taken from the Hewitt residence".

Why was the last name Sawyer in the recent version? Also, why rename Leather face from Thomas Hewitt to "Jed Sawyer"?

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To quote from the Wikipedia entry:

[Leatherface] was originally portrayed by Gunnar Hansen. His real name is unknown, although older brother Chop Top calls him "Bubba" in the second movie and in Texas Chainsaw 3D, his name is Jedidiah. While Chop Top is most likely using this colloquial word for "brother" affectionately, it is possible that "Bubba" is Leatherface's proper name. In the latter case, assuming that his surname is Sawyer as with his older brothers, his full name would be Bubba Sawyer. In the third film he is only referred to as Junior by his family with his first name not being stated. In the fourth film Leatherface is called "Leather" by his relatives.

This therefore leaves two names: Bubba Sawyer and Jedidiah Sawyer.

Again from the Wikipedia entry:

In the remake series, Leatherface is named Thomas and lives with his adoptive family, the murderous Hewitts, he is portrayed by Andrew Bryniarski. In this series his family never refers to him as Leatherface, but by his real name.

This adds a third name, Thomas Hewitt.

So now we have three total names for him, the real question is why the name change. I haven't found anything quoting any of the directors, but there are a few logical leaps that can be made. The original movie was marketed as being a true story. It wasn't. But clever marketing made the event seem even scarier and drew in bigger crowds.

It certainly seems plausible that in the reboot of the series the makers simply wanted to "freshen" things up and introduce a new name to bring a new generation of film-goers into the story. A quick browse through sites like Yahoo Answers and the like shows many people asking if the new name, Hewitt, is based off a real-life family.

Therefore, I'd have to conclude that the only reason for the name change was to keep the series fresh and to get a new generation of viewers to question whether this new family were real (now that many realise the original family were not).

However, I will hold my hands up and say I have no citable source from a director/producer to corroborate that - it's just an educated guess.

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    Your answer is acceptable. I believe it was just due to different story lines/reboots.
    – DustinDavis
    Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 17:44
  • Sawyer is a bit on the nose, really. Come on, "saw ya"? Pul-eeze! Likewise, "hew" means "to chop or cut", so "hew it" is a similar pun, but a little more subtle.
    – John Sensebe
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 14:22
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In fact Sawyer is the original name of leatherface.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leatherface

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    Please quote where you see that it's the original name. I see a lot of back and forth, prequels and reboots or the original film. Where does it state that "Sawyer" was the real name of the family from the very first film? There seems to be different story lines.
    – DustinDavis
    Commented Jun 4, 2013 at 15:19
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Jedidiah Sawyer is the name of the little kid that played in texas chainsaw massacra 2003 and they also show you in that movie that the little kid has the same teeth that you always have seen underneath leatherface his mask. so its just a little twist in the story that try's to say that Jedidiah will become the next leatherface and he's the little brother of Thomas Bubba Hewitt

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  • If you can site references I'll up vote this
    – DustinDavis
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 20:49
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Jedidiah is the little boy from Michael Bay’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre who helps the escapers so the little brother of thomas

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    That's almost a complete
    – Meat Trademark
    Commented May 25, 2014 at 20:59
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Dustin, please don't refer to the crappy 2003 film as "the original". The original masterpiece was released in 1974, and the name of the family was Sawyer. The 2013 film is a direct sequel to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, not the crappy Michael Bay produced remake.

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  • Note that the asker did not refer to the 2003 movie as "the original". To quote him: "In the original as well as the version with Jessica Biel".
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 22:56
  • This is not an answer to the question and should be a comment. Also, as noted by @ChristianRau, you are wrong.
    – Meat Trademark
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 23:21
  • @MeatTrademark "The original masterpiece was released in 1974, and the name of the family was Sawyer. The 2013 film is a direct sequel to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - This does seem like an answer, though (even if I don't know if that's correct).
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 23:28
  • Yeah, sorry. I just zoned in on the first sentence and the opinions "crappy" and "masterpiece" and missed the relevant bit. So if this is a direct sequel to the 1974 film, what about the same director's (Tobe Hooper) sequel with Dennis Hopper? Is that now not canon?
    – Meat Trademark
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 23:32

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