It's game over for Saw fans. According to an exclusive new report from Bloody Disgusting, the eleventh film in the franchise is dead and no longer moving forward, so we aren't going to see Jigsaw setting traps anytime soon, or even another showdown between John Kramer and Cecilia as hinted at by the end of Saw X.
The outlet quotes a source who was reportedly close to production for Saw XI, which was slated to release this September after being delayed a year.
"It’s totally dead. It’s 100% over. Almost a year now.”
The source claims that infighting on set caused the film to eventually breakdown, kicking off way back in January 2024, when one person wanted to "plow forward" to make the film, and the other stalling production.
As devastating as this update is, it's not all that surprising. Rumors have been circling about a troubled production for months now. At one point, the leading rumor was that there had been creative differences between some of the filmmakers and producers and it seems there might be some truth to that.
Apparently, Saw distributor Lionsgate Pictures "didn't have anyone to smooth over the disagreement," and in the end, "greed and ego won," says the source.
It sounds like there is a chance that Lionsgate could sell off the franchise, but if that happens then it might be restarted from scratch.
It's a real shame if all of this turns out to be true, but there is one glimmer of hope in that this hasn't been officially confirmed just yet. Perhaps Bloody Disgusting's reporting will motivate Lionsgate to, at the very least, make an official statement regarding the future of the billion-dollar franchise.
Previous reports suggested concerns about Tobin Bell's age
Last month, Scream Magazine reported a rumor that there were concerns over Tobin Bell's age, as the star will turn 83 later this year. He has appeared as the leading villain John Kramer, a.k.a. the Jigsaw Killer, in every Saw film apart from Spiral: The Book of Saw. Many fans felt that the franchise made a huge mistake killing off Kramer so early in the franchise.
He officially died in Saw III and then the filmmakers had to keep finding creative ways of bringing him back, usually through flashback sequences which is why the movies have such a convoluted timeline.
For Saw X, director Kevin Greutert and writers Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg chose to set the tenth movie between the first Saw and the second, so it took place during a time when John was still alive. As an interquel, Saw X did a fantastic job of diving into John's psyche upon learning he had brain cancer and only a certain amount of time left to live. It focused heavily on him and his relationship with apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith), another popular character killed off too early.
Saw X performed well at the box office, earning over $125 million on a $13 million budget and became the most well-reviewed Saw movie by far. So it made sense that an eleventh film would happen and it was expected to follow up on the Saw X timeline, keeping the story to the past where John was still alive. Greutert was expected to return to direct.
If this really is the end, at least the films are going out on a high note.