WARNING: Some spoilers for Saw X's ending are going to be in play. If you're still anticipating the next chapter of John Kramer's legacy, you've been warned.
While PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie ruled this past weekend's box office results, there was still some cause for fans of horror movies to celebrate. Saw X heralded the return of Tobin Bell's John Kramer, and the film earned second place at the BO in its debut, which could hint at some long, un-amputated legs for this picture. Should a sequel actually happen, producer Mark Burg admits he has two people on deck that are hoping to return for a potential XI installment, and I think I know exactly who's being referred to in those comments.
What Mark Burg Said About More Potential Returning Legacy Characters
As he chatted with EW, the producer -- who's been with the series since 2004's origin story -- admitted to some forward thinking. While he didn't drop any specific names, the subtext was loud and clear (to me) regarding those people who want to be kept in the loop. Mark Burg revealed that much with this short and sweet remark:
There are two other [actors] that have said, 'Hey, if you make one, can I be in it?
Now, considering Saw X took us back in time to a period set between director James Wan's original film and 2005's Saw II, a lot of characters could return. If the creative team really wanted to, they could reach back and bring Donnie Wahlberg's Detective Eric Matthews into the fold for another ride. That being said, I think I know exactly which characters would be most likely to return for the next round.
The Legacy Characters I'm Almost Certain Could Return In Saw XI
Going into the tenth installment, fans knew Shawnee Smith was returning, as her character, Amanda Young, was revealed as a part of the game via the early trailers. And while he was rumored to be in the movie, we didn't know for sure until Saw X's wild ending that Costas Mandylor's Detective Sergeant Mark Hoffman was along for the ride after all.
With that in mind, if my Jigsaw senses are correct, the legacy characters I'm almost certain would return in Saw XI would be Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes). Both were last spotted in 2010's Saw 3D, which was also “The Final Chapter” of the series, and there are very different reasons for possibly wanting to revive these series stalwarts.
In the case of Betsy Russell's character, the beloved ex-wife to John Kramer has always played an important role in keeping other disciples of Jigsaw in line. Her rivalry with Mark Hoffman played out over the course of the last couple of installments and ended with a confrontation that saw Jill die and Hoffman thrown into a game as punishment.
Seeing these two working together pre-spat would be a rather novel angle, which also leads to our other potential reunion. It was such a big deal for The Final Chapter to get Cary Elwes back into the cast to close the proceedings off that first time around. It would be ridiculous not to have him back in this pool of participants, especially since around this point in time, he was hard at work helping execute John Kramer's traps with expertise.
Admittedly, you're probably in need of a refresher course on the entire run of Saw movies; which is why I highly recommend using a Peacock subscription to catch up on as many as you can fit in. But for die-hard fans, the moment Mark Berg mentioned two actors ready to jump back in might've induced visions of that final chapter's close back through their minds.
Saw X has opened the door for both Betsy Russell and Cary Elwes to return for more adventures alongside Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith. While they're not named directly, my money would be on their characters being the ones that are being kept in the back pocket for either a full on revival, or another slow burn tease that leads to another massive post-credits sequence.
If this series is going to return to its annual tradition of employing kills and thrills in the name of Halloween excitement, such strategies need to be weighed. For now, it's just good to have John Kramer and his network of nasties back and working towards their eventual fates. We might just hear Billy the puppet's tricycle wheeling down a hall near us sooner than later but, for now, know that Saw X is still playing in a theater near you.
