Production for Saw 10 is officially underway, but its prequel status raises one major casting issue that can be solved by following a Scream franchise trick. Jigsaw and Spiral: From the Book of Saw both attempted reboots of the gory horror saga but did not succeed, as they strayed too far from the original seven films. Meanwhile, Scream 2022 harkened back to its franchise’s roots with a clever technique that Saw 10 should copy.
Although the plot details of the upcoming film are not yet confirmed, the rumored storyline places Saw 10 on the timeline between Saw II and Saw III. Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures revealed that Saw 10 is to be released on October 27, 2023. Saw producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules claimed, upon the announcement, “We have been listening to what the fans have been asking for and are hard at work planning a movie that Saw aficionados and horror fans alike will love“ (via Variety). Kevin Greutert, director of Saw VI and Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, will return to direct Saw 10, and Burg and Koules further stated that giving him back the reins is only part of how they plan to deliver on what fans want.
It’s been nearly 20 years since the release of Saw, the original independent horror film that would kickstart a torture subgenre. The franchise’s 10th installment is now being set in motion, but its status as a prequel raises issues. If Saw 10 is set between Saw II and Saw III, then John Kramer’s three primary apprentices — Mark Hoffman, Lawrence Gordon, and Amanda Young — are still active. Saw has digressed from its origins, especially in Spiral, which merely references the Kramer legacy, so Saw 10 opens up an opportunity to draw back in old audiences by having these antagonists return. Kramer dying in Saw III had the apprentices helming the franchise until Saw 3D. To leave them out of a prequel could lead to plot holes in the timeline, yet the actors are much older than they were in the early 2000s. Scream 2022 successfully fixed a similar issue in its own franchise by bringing back Skeet Ulrich to play Billy Loomis with the clever use of de-aging CGI. Nothing is stopping Saw from adopting this technique to also revive Jigsaw’s legacy.
Saw 10 Needs To Copy Scream 2022 To Bring Back Its Legacy Characters
The box office nonperformance of Spiral, in comparison to its predecessors, means Saw is in desperate need of a new direction to keep the franchise afloat. Scream bringing back one of its most popular legacy characters for its fifth installment successfully drums up excitement for future sequels without imposing excessive fan service on newcomers. Ulrich has aged significantly, but his cameo as young Billy in Scream 2022 is brief and was aided with CGI to cover up discrepancies. Any oversights could be overlooked because Billy got to have more character development.
Jigsaw’s apprentices still have stories that need to be told. Dr. Gordon’s actor, Cary Elwes, says he is not against reprising the role and claims that he will “Never say never” (via The Hollywood Reporter). The actors’ willingness to return alongside the earlier timeline of Saw 10 leaves only one problem, but fortunately, Scream has proven with massive success that an actor’s age is a non-issue and worth the risk of continuing a classic story. Bringing back Saw’s legacy characters can answer questions hanging in the air about how Gordon is recruited by Jigsaw, or if Hoffman survives Saw 3D.
The creators of Saw should review the success of Billy’s cameo in Scream 2022 and consider using CGI the same way to bring back Jigsaw’s apprentices for the prequel. After John Kramer’s death, they become the heart of the franchise and are just as integral to Jigsaw’s legacy as Tobin Bell’s John Kramer is. Having one or more of the apprentices return for Saw 10 would take the gory franchise in a thrillingly nostalgic direction and hype up future sequels, like Billy Loomis’s return in Scream 2022 has accomplished.
