As much as I loved the original run of the Saw film franchise – for the most part – it was impossible to deny that Lionsgate simply burnt out moviegoers by releasing one flick per year over the span of seven, or that the series collapsed under its own weight with the haphazardly put together Saw: The Final Chapter, an entry that confounds me to this day.
Having assumed that the property had spent enough time on the shelf, the studio was more than happy to take another stab at it with last year’s Jigsaw, which, most fortunate for them, was a runaway success for all intents and purposes. Reports placed its budget at $10 million, so to hear that it raked in over $100 million at the worldwide box office means that sequel talk isn’t all that far-fetched.
Speaking of which, Bloody Disgusting has learned that the fine folks at Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures are indeed pondering the possibilities of another installment, but “it’s just a ‘conversation’ at the moment, and Jigsaw helmers Michael and Peter Spierig will not be returning to their director’s chairs.”
With the followup being in such early stages, it’s our hope that the suits give the franchise some much needed time to breathe, possibly waiting until 2019 or even 2020 to roll it out. They’re probably seeing dollar signs, sure, but they don’t need to exhaust the series just as we said they did last time.
Until we learn more about where the studio plans to take the franchise next, be sure to pick up Jigsaw when it arrives Blu-ray and DVD on January 23 – Amazon is now taking pre-orders.
