The first movie was friggin' tremendous and then there were some other movies afterwards as well, but the Saw franchise never seemed to slow down in terms of box office take. The ingenious traps and raspy voice helped propel the enigmatic Jigsaw killer right into the VIP Room of Halloween Horror Movie Icons, sitting behind Freddy and Jason but in front of Pinhead and Chucky.
Then, in 2010, Lionsgate ended the franchise with Saw 3D, the biggest budget sequel of the lot. It made some decent money, they sewed up all the loose ends on the series (say what you want about those movies, but the continuity was God Damn excellent) and put it bed with series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannel at the helm.
Now, three years on, the studio are starting to think there might still be life in the decapitated head and pulled off arms of the Saw franchise, and have placed an 8th movie on the slate for active development.
Doesn't appear like they're in any rush to get this into production, because there's been no release date set which is what studios seem to be doing these days. Lionsgate are just putting it back on the table and trying to find the best way to bring back a very profitable title.
You probably won't be seeing Saw 8 in theaters next Halloween, but come the witching hour 2015 expect to see Billy the shit scary puppet squeakily wheeling himself across screens on his tricycle. No idea about how they'll actually carry this on, what with Jigsaw himself dying halfway through the series and everything, but there's some money involved and executive interest so I'm sure there'll find a solution.
Saw 8 will likely act as a sequel rather than a reboot, following on the story from Saw 3D as opposed to being a remake of the original movie, so it's possible we'll see a new Jigsaw enter the frame. A copycat, or maybe another one of his disciples.
What do you reckon? Keep it going or leave it where it is to let Rob Zombie reboot the whole thing in a few years time and ruin it? Comments below!
Words by Gazz Wood
