Saw 11 Isn't Set In Stone, But The Series Producers Have Some Ideas [Exclusive]
"Saw X" could be the final "Saw" film. While it's technically a prequel, taking place three weeks after the events of the first film, but before "Saw II," it's very much a thematic sequel, intended to be seen after every other film in the franchise. It's the first film in the series to put Tobin Bell's John Kramer front-and-center and to ask the viewer to empathize with the Jigsaw killer as he undertakes one of his life lesson/torture sessions. It's a showcase for a character who died too soon in his own franchise, a big Halloween present for the fans who have stuck with the series through thick or thin.
But after ten movies, do you really think the "Saw" series is actually going to end? Like all respectable horror franchises, this one is going to keep driving until the wheels come off, and "Saw X" is one of the best films in the series. Of course "Saw 11" is a very real possibility, especially since the latest film unlocks the timeline. All bets are off. Prequels. Sequels. Between-quels. The "Saw" timeline was joyful chaos before, and now it's more labyrinthine than ever.
Following a screening of "Saw X" at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, /Film sat down with producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg for an interview that will run in its entirety soon. The duo has been with the series since the very first entry — to save money, Koules played the very-much-alive body Amanda has to extract that key from in the first film — so if anyone is able to talk about what's next for "Saw," it's them. They were cagey about the future of the series, but it's clear they're bursting with ideas. "Saw X" just needs to be a hit first, they said. Which it now is.
'Just in case'
The rest of this article contains major spoilers for "Saw X."
When the interview shifted toward the finale of the film, where John Kramer and Amanda (Shawnee Smith) escape from their latest deathtrap after some necessary improvising (a rare moment where we see the infamous Jigsaw killer see his plan not, uh, go fully according to plan), Koules and Burg noted that they don't like to think too far ahead when it comes to follow-ups. But in the same breath, they teased a sequel possibility. Cheeky bastards.
"Being that we're superstitious, we kind of don't really talk about a sequel until this movie opens," Burg told /Film, adding:
"But if this movie should open, do you think John Kramer/Jigsaw would want somebody out there knowing who he was? There's only one person that's not in his world [who knows who he is], and that's a brilliant actress by the name of Synnove Lund, who played Cecilia in this movie. We kind of kept her alive in this movie."
Koules dryly added, "Just in case."
Of course, both producers are correct: Lund's Cecilia, a con artist who tricks dying people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars each with promises of a miracle cancer cure, is still drawing breath when the film concludes (although she is in a precarious position, to put it mildly). As one of the nastiest villains in the whole series, one of the few Jigsaw victims truly deserving of his full-blown wrath, it's an interesting choice. But her being left alive to seek out John, or to be sought out by him, in a future sequel certainly gets the imagination cooking.
Jigsaw and Spiral
While "Saw X" takes the series backwards in time, there are plenty of lingering threads in the present day. "Jigsaw" introduced another still-living Jigsaw apprentice. "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" introduced a copycat killer (played by Max Minghella, no less) inspired by John Kramer's work. Have we seen the last of those two? Could they team up in a future sequel? Burg and Koules seemingly don't want to rule anything out, but they won't confirm or deny.
"'Spiral' was a kind of one-off movie," Burg said. "Could there be a way of John Kramer interacting with Max Minghella or ['Spiral' star] Chris Rock ? We kind of didn't do it in the first 'Spiral.' Is that a possibility? Chris is busy, it depends if Chris would want to come back and do more 'Spiral' movies."
Koules added: "Or 'Jigsaw.' I mean, there's a bunch of great characters in 'Jigsaw.' We really don't — we're not just giving you a line — we really don't think about it–"
"Until the movie opens," Burg said, completing his thought for him.
Reading the audience
So, what is the next step for planning for a possible "Saw 11"? It certainly sounds like Koules and Burg have a system, and one they plan to follow yet again. Part of it involves watching the fan reaction very closely, and following suit. Koules said:
"We don't test screen the movie. We don't know what audiences like. We'll for the next month, read a lot of Reddit, read all the different sites, read fan sites, and see what characters they identify with, what characters they like. In a weird way, the release of the movie is our test screen. Most studios will test screen and film three, four times..."
Burg stepped in to continue this thought, making it clear that they carefully monitor fan reactions following the release of a "Saw" movie, and use that feedback to determine the direction of the series:
"We don't do that, because we don't want people knowing the ending and knowing where we're going with the franchise. Shawnee came back to this movie because Oren and myself read so much about the audiences wanting more of her, and, quite frankly, wanting more John Kramer. Because of wanting that, we decided that's where this story came from. We'll sit down and read next week, the week after, and then we'll start meeting with the writers and hopefully [screenwriters Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger] will want to come back and [director Kevin Greutert] will want to come back, and then we'll take it from there. But until the movie opens, right now we're focused on this movie and we haven't really sat down and thought about the next one yet."
So there you have it. If you have strong feelings about "Saw X," the masterminds of the franchise are paying attention. And they may react accordingly for "Saw 11."
Since this interview was conducted, "Saw X" has become a box office hit. Not a smash, and not nearly on the level of the most successful films of the series during its heyday, but it's enough to guarantee a sequel, especially since "Saw" movies don't cost that much to produce. Two weeks into its theatrical run, "Saw X" has made $43 million worldwide, and that's before Halloween rolls around and gives the film one final shot in the arm as moviegoers seek out something scary for spooky season viewing. As long as these movies can be produced on the cheap and make numbers this solid, they'll keep making them.
But what could a sequel be about? Fans will note that the film ends with a young child very much alive, very much aware of John Kramer, and very much having bonded with him in a near-death experience. In real-time, that kid would be an adult now. And maybe ready to lead a sequel.