The blockbuster horror studio Blumhouse just finalized a deal that's been in the making for a long while now, and have acquired part of the hit Saw franchise from Twisted Pictures. This news broke earlier today from an article in The Hollywood Reporter. While terms of the deal are still under wraps, Lionsgate continues to have an ownership stake as well as distribution rights, which the company has had since the release of the first film in 2004. A particularly interesting note about this deal is that it brings the franchise back to its original creators, director and co-writer James Wan and co-writer Leigh Whannell. Wans own production company Atomic Monster was acquired by Blumhouse in 2024 and Whannell has been a frequent collaborator with Blumhouse having previously helmed universals remake of The Invisible Man in 2020 and Wolf Man earlier this year. Blumhouse's founder and CEO had this to say on the acquisition:
“The Saw franchise has defined a generation of horror, and its cultural impact continues to grow, making this a strategic investment in one of the most recognizable and successful genre properties of the last two decades. But what really excites me about bringing Saw to Blumhouse is having James and Leigh back in the fold and to see the future of the franchise come to life with their guidance,”
The article goes on with a comment from Wan about coming back to he and Whannell's breakout franchise:
“For me, this will mark a significant creative return to the Saw franchise for the first time since the early days, and I’m very much looking forward to embracing the original spirit whilst pushing the legacy forward in bold, unexpected ways,”
The phrasing in the above quotes points towards Wan and Whannell being heavily involved with whatever Blumhouse plans to do with the franchise, one possibility even being Wan coming back to direct another Saw film. Since its release in 2004, the Saw franchise has churned out 10 films, a spin off movie and two video games, the films grossing over a billion dollars globally. James Wan has gone on to be one of the biggest names in horror over the last 20 years, helming other big franchises such as Insidious and The Conjuring as well as directing the billion dollar grossing Aquaman film for DC and its sequel.
This is hardly the first big horror franchise Blumhouse has acquired, their biggest being the Halloween franchise, in which the studio produced a hit trilogy with Halloween in 2018, Halloween Kills in 2021, and Halloween Ends in 2022. The studio has also done a remake of the 1974 holiday horror flick Black Christmas in 2019 and recently released a remake of the 2022 Danish horror film Speak No Evil. While the studio has had its critics throughout its conception in 2000, especially recently, the studio has been responsible for a generation of original and rebooted horror and has grossed over 5 billion dollars at the global box office.
While many horror fans online have expressed some concern over the news of Saw entering the Blumhouse, I think the original creators being back in the fold for the franchise set a good path for things to come.
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