Is it really the end of the line for the Saw franchise? Sadly, it very well could be. After hitting a series high with Saw X, the interquel set between Saw and Saw II, fans thought the Saw franchise could only go up. A sequel, Saw XI, was set for September 2025, but then the trouble started. Lionsgate announced the film would be delayed one year, to September 2026. Time passed. No news about filming, casting, or anything else came out, leading to suspicion and rumors that something might be brewing behind the scenes.
Those fears came true in March 2025 when several outlets, including Bloody Disgusting and The Hollywood Reporter, seemingly confirmed that the franchise was dead. According to the reports, infighting between producers and Lionsgate led to trouble when trying to get the movie to move forward and start production. THR's source, screenwriter Patrick Melton, says Saw XI wasn't stalled for creative reasons but due to something "managerial," noting that there were "higher-level things at play."
Saw XI screenwriter Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan said the team was proud of the idea they'd come up with for the new movie, but it would have had similar themes to Saw VI when John Kramer targeted health insurance executives.
“Saw XI may or may not be made, but we have a very timely story in it, and I hope it gets made just because of that. It taps into the same themes of Saw VI, where you’re a citizen, you feel angry and frustrated with something, you feel like you can’t do anything, and John Kramer’s going to do it," Melton told THR.
Now, there's a chance we'll never get another Saw movie, at least not one like the ones we've seen in the past. The source who spoke to Bloody Disgusting said it's possible that Lionsgate could sell the franchise, and if that happens, it will likely be restarted from scratch.
So, if it is the end for Saw, now is the right time to memorialize the franchise by looking back at one of its most legacy-defining scenes (and traps).
The legendary Reverse Bear Trap
When people think of Saw, a few scenes come to mind, even for those who haven't seen every single movie. Usually, fans reference the crazy twist ending at the end of the original 2004 movie, the scene that revealed the real Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer, had been pretending to be a "dead body" for the entire film.
But the Reverse Bear Trap has become emblematic of the entire franchise. First introduced in Saw II, a film that many fans feel is one of the best, the Bear Trap would recur several times throughout the series. Jigsaw apprentice Amanda Young tested it out the first time in a harrowing scene that set the stakes for the franchise moving forward.
Saw was a dark psychological movie, but it was light on gore. It wasn't until Saw II that we saw victims experiencing the traps in gory detail. The flashback sequence showing Amanda in the trap is a defining moment as it shows the scope and danger of Jigsaw's mind. Amanda is forced to kill a man to retrieve a key from inside his stomach.
The actual Reverse Bear Trap looks terrifying, too. It functions like a cage placed around the victim's head, with a mouthpiece that will rip apart their upper and lower jaw when triggered, effectively splitting their skull in two.
It's the most recognizable trap from the entire series, and it has returned in several follow-up Saw movies.
Honorable mention
Funnily enough, one of the franchise's other defining scenes also happens in Saw II. It's the scene where Amanda is thrown into a pit of hypodermic needles. What makes that scene so horrific is the extended torture. The Saw traps that were often the scariest were the ones that hurt the entire time they were in effect, vs. some of the traps that would only become a threat if the victim failed.
The idea of crawling around on hands and knees across dozens of needles, pricking and piercing your skin repeatedly sounds horrific. And that's not even considering the diseases one would be exposed to doing such a thing.
There's a reason Saw II is generally agreed upon to be the franchise's best film. It has some of the most memorable and disturbing traps and sets the tone for the rest of the series.