Jigsaw’s Return All But Confirmed Thanks To…Divorce Papers?

John Kramer, otherwise known as the Jigsaw Killer, has a tendency of cheating death – even when the odds are stacked against him.

Such was the case during Michael and Peter Spierig’s Jigsaw, which brought Tobin Bell’s unhinged serial killer back from the brink for the first time in almost 10 years. And it seems there’s still life in the old dog yet, as divorce documents uncovered by The Blast (h/t Bloody Disgusting) reveal that Bell is scheduled to return for the ninth Saw movie that’s currently moving forward over at Twisted Pictures.

Still simmering in the formative stages of development, all we know for sure is that the studio has tasked Jigsaw duo Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg with crafting a script for Saw 9 (tentative title), so there’s no guarantee this mooted sequel will even see the light of day. Be that as it may, it would appear Tobin Bell is game for another crack of the whip, as the franchise mainstay just reached a settlement agreement in the divorce from his wife, Elizabeth.

Via The Blast:

The agreement clearly draws out a stipulation between the two for Bell’s participation in the ninth installment of SAW. Basically, if he makes money from the production, he has to reimburse Elizabeth for taxes she’ll end up paying from the $8,000 per month spousal support he agreed to pay.

And here’s the kicker: should the project move forward, it looks likely that Tobin Bell’s name will be on the casting docket for Saw 9:

The exact line explains that if Bell ‘receives any compensation from any source for his participation in the ninth motion picture in the ‘Saw’ series (‘Saw 9 Pay’) at any time, he shall pay [Elizabeth] (or reimburse her for) all of her combined Federal and California income tax liability incurred on the spousal support she receives.’

Again, we should stress that this is by no means official, as the documents merely allude to the fact that Saw 9 (or Jigsaw 2?) has entered the early stages of development at Twisted Pictures. Either way, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on more about this story as it unfolds.