Horror was in a rough place in the early 2000s, as the slasher resurrection created by Wes Craven‘s Scream in 1996 died out. The genre found its path forward in a post-9/11 world with darker, gorier films, starting in 2004 with James Wan‘s Saw. The story of Tobin Bell‘s Jigsaw, a dying man who puts bad people in deadly traps as a way to test them and what lengths they’d go to for their life, was a success that started a franchise. Jigsaw dies early on in the sequels, but in Saw X, which is set between the second and third films, he returns. The tenth film was arguably the best since the first, and with its open ending, Saw XI felt imminent. Sadly, though, according to Bloody Disgusting, the eleventh film has been canceled, and the franchise along with it. This is not how such an important horror legend can come to an end.
‘Saw X’ Had an Open Ending Which Hinted at More for John Kramer
After nine films, there seemed to be nowhere else left for the Saw franchise to go. The announcement of Saw X, which would bring back the long-dead John Kramer (Bell), along with his former victim-turned-assistant, Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), may have been exciting for fans, but it also came off as a desperate reach. Whenever a horror series brings back the dead for prequels, it means they are trying to hang on to a story that had come to a natural end. However, Saw X was a fun surprise which capitalized on horror’s revival by crafting more compelling stories and characters. The Saw films have never been critically acclaimed, but Saw X had a very impressive 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. On top of that, it made $53 million at the box office, which was far from its glory days but was still good enough to be the sixth highest-grossing entry.
Saw X was so much more than a gore fest. With John Kramer dying of cancer and being victimized in a scam that took his money but didn’t help him, there were powerful themes about the state of healthcare. Here, he was not the villain but a Dexter-like vigilante, working side by side with Amanda to take out the evildoers. This was an exciting new approach, but in the end, not only is our big bad, Cecilia (Synnøve Macody Lund), still alive, but we also meet Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). The open ending hinted at a Saw XI, with Cecilia out for revenge and Hoffman now working with Kramer and Young.
Producer Infighting Destroyed ‘Saw XI’ and the Franchise
Saw XI was quickly greenlit with a 2024 release date, only to be delayed until 2025. That was disappointing, but it was also better to take time with it rather than rushing it out just a year after Saw X. Sadly, on March 17 came the news from Bloody Disgusting that Saw XI was dead, because “According to the source, ‘Everything went sideways in January 2024 … the producers started fighting.’ While one producer attempted to ‘plow forward’ with the film, the other ‘put up roadblocks,’ stifling Saw XI’s production.”
Not only could the producers not get along, but Lionsgate had no one to smooth things over. As Bloody Disgusting summed it up, “With Saw XI effectively canceled, so too is the franchise.” It’s a heartbreaking end to one of modern horror’s biggest icons.
‘Saw’ Cannot Come Back as a Reboot Elsewhere
There is only one hope for the Saw franchise and that’s a complete reboot. Bloody Disgusting’s source told them that the IP could be sold off, but if so, it would likely be to start over and not have an official Saw XI that continued the story. Let’s hope this is not what happens. Reboots are the laziest thing a horror franchise can do, and for Saw, it’s the last thing fans would be excited about. Imagine redoing the story with someone else playing Jigsaw. That would be a slap in the face to the character and to Tobin Bell.
The only way forward is with a true Saw XI that ties up the loose ends created in Saw X and gives Jigsaw a fitting end. If producers can’t be forced to get along, it has to be the direction agreed to by any new potential buyer, and it needs to happen sooner rather than later. Tobin Bell might still be at the top of his game, but he is in his 80s now and will retire one day. Give him and Amanda a goodbye and let them rest forever afterward if necessary, but Saw can’t end until it gets itself out of this trap.
