It's been 10 years since the Saw series turned Lionsgate from a small indie studio known mostly for horror flicks into a moderately successful studio that was still known mostly for horror flicks. While times have definitely changed for the now pretty major player in the Hollywood market, Lionsgate can still be considered the house that Saw built. With four years separating us from the seventh and "final" chapter of the Saw franchise, some would say it's time to resurrect the beast.
As Shock Till You Drop has uncovered at a press conference for the 10th anniversary re-release of Saw, franchise producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules are just the people to believe that Saw has not seen its final bow. Koules in particular seems amped by the possibility, and in part of his remarks highlighted below, he hints at two other major players returning alongside himself and Burg:
"We kind of wanted to build it up. Our goal is to go to Comic-Con, not next summer but the summer after [2016] with our heads up saying, ‘Here we go.’ James [Wan] and Leigh [Whannell] are comfortable with the success they’ve had. And it’s time."
Considering Wan left the series' director's chair after the first film, with Whannell leaving after his work on Saw III, it's been a good long while since either man has set foot in the world of Jigsaw and his disciples. Although, at the end of Saw III, it was really still only one disciple; but later films would retcon that fact to add everyone and their mother as a disciple of Jigsaw, so the the statement still stands.
The point is, to have James Wan and Leigh Whannell return to the Hell that they created those many years ago would not only be an infusion of fresh blood into the series, it would also mean some familiarity would return to the franchise that spiraled out of control after Saw V got its hands on the story. If they really wanted to, they could selectively revise the Saw canon from Saw IV on as one huge fever dream of Dr. Gordon's. There's no real direction for the series' resurrection just yet, but that is one of the possibilities that could override the finality of Saw: The Final Chapter.
In the ten years that Saw has been around, and in the last four years that it's been inactive as a franchise, we've seen the after effects of the film's resounding success echo in other films and franchises, most notably the Paranormal Activity franchise. While some might argue that there's no longer room for a Saw franchise in the world of Horror, it seems more than likely that there is plenty of room for the former king of Halloween to come back and take his throne once more. So if you think you're safe from the games for much longer, it looks like you're wrong, dear readers. Best keep an eye on what you say and what you do, lest Jigsaw or his followers target you for their grand resurgence.
In the meantime, you can enjoy Saw in its original flavor for one week only in theaters, starting on Halloween.
