Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Saw X!
Following his successful return, Saw X producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules address Jigsaw’s potential franchise future. Tobin Bell returned for the latest sequel in the horror movie series as the iconic John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, who embarks on his most personal game of traps in Mexico City after a group of con artists trick him into believing they’ve successfully cured his cancer. Joined by fellow franchise vets Shawnee Smith, director/editor Kevin Greutert and writing duo Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, Saw X has left critics and audiences happily surprised, becoming the first of all 10 movies to not only earn a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the additional “Certified Fresh”.
Ahead of the movie’s release, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with Burg and Koules to break down the making of Saw X. When asked about their plans for the franchise’s future, in particular that of Bell’s Jigsaw, the producing duo were cautious in their response, believing that the big condition to keep the ball rolling will be the audience’s response. See what Burg and Koules explained below:
Oren Koules: We’re very superstitious. We don’t really think too much about what we’re going to do next, until this one comes out. And one of the reasons is that you realize some people like characters; don’t like characters. How the audiences react [is] then how we read and react.
Mark Burg: We’ll start October 2 thinking about, if this movie works, where should the story go.
How The Saw Franchise Can Extend John Kramer’s Storyline Further
In both the lead up to and wake of the new movie’s release, Burg and Koules have been enthusiastic about the chances of a Saw 11 being made in the near future. The duo previously echoed their feelings of being superstitious when it comes to plotting out future installments of the franchise, though teased that they have ideas for where to go. Two of their ideas for the future have pointed towards another movie involving Detective Hoffman following his surprise return in Saw X‘s mid-credits scene, while another have hinted at the survival of Cecilia as a potential foe to keep an eye out for.
As acclaimed as Bell’s Jigsaw return was in the new installment, the character’s future in the franchise is a pretty troublesome notion. It was well-publicized ahead of the movie’s release that it was set just weeks after the original Saw, thus putting it not too far away from its 2005 follow-up. This largely leaves little wiggle room before Jigsaw’s infamous death in Saw III, save for the sixth-month gap between the two installments.
In contrast to Burg and Koules’ ideas, Greutert has expressed the feeling that there is no obvious direction for the franchise to go after Saw X, primarily in regard to Jigsaw’s story. Many of the sequels after Saw III found themselves criticized by critics and audiences alike for the continually convoluted flashbacks crafted in order to keep Bell around, which made the new movie’s midquel setting a risk, but one that ultimately paid off thanks to its emotionally resonant story for Kramer. Should the writing and producing team behind the recent installments find yet another way to bring Jigsaw back for a Saw 11, one can hope it proves just as compelling as its predecessor.
