Ten years after the release of the original Saw, the film that helped popularize the so-called “torture porn” genre, the producers may be at it again.
At a press event celebrating the tenth anniversary of the franchise, producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules revealed that they think the time has come to make another movie, after releasing seven Saw films between 2004 and 2010.
The first film, directed by James Wan (The Conjuring) and written by Leigh Whannell (Insidious: Chapter 3) introduced the world to the serial killer Jigsaw, who placed his victims in elaborate deathtraps to see just how far they would go to survive. If you were willing to cut off an appendage, burn off your skin or crawl through razor wire naked, you obviously deserved to live. If not, well, your life must not have been that important to you anyway.
“James and Leigh…when Saw came out they were so afraid of being ‘the Saw guys’,” Koules told Shock Till You Drop, “and they were trying to make their own mark. Now that they’ve made their own mark, they’re very comfortable to come back. We’re getting there. James and Leigh are absolutely going to put their mark on it.”
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Exciting news for Saw fans, but they may not want to hold their breath. Unless that’s part of an elaborate death trap, of course.
“It’s one of the reasons we agreed to do this again,” Koules continued, referring to the tenth anniversary re-release of Saw. “We kind of wanted to build it up. Our goal is to go to Comic-Con, not next summer but the summer after [2016] with our heads up saying, ‘Here we go.’ James and Leigh are comfortable with the success they’ve had. And it’s time. James is in post on his movie. Leigh’s on post on [Insidious Chapter 3]. Everyone has time and it’s time.”
Although the most recent film, Saw 3D, was touted as the final chapter, in no way did it close the door on future films in the series. In fact, due to the heavy flashback structure of Saw III – Saw 3D, there’s no reason any of the already deceased characters (read: most of them) couldn’t come back again for more.
And speaking of coming back for more, what about James Wan, who recently graduated to “blockbuster director” status with the upcoming Fast & Furious 6. Would he come back for Saw 8?
Probably not, but never say never.
“I’ve entertained the idea,” Wan told me later when asked about possibly back in the director’s chair for another film. “But that’s more of a fantasy, I think. It’s a story Leigh and I really like and…who knows?”
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
