The SAW franchise is now in the hands of Blumhouse in the wake of Saw X, with the company recently acquiring the franchise rights from Twisted Pictures. Blumhouse has acquired “the library, the ten previous movies, all of the ancillaries, roller coaster, escape rooms, all of it” as part of the deal, with a new […]
The SAW franchise is now in the hands of Blumhouse in the wake of Saw X, with the company recently acquiring the franchise rights from Twisted Pictures. Blumhouse has acquired “the library, the ten previous movies, all of the ancillaries, roller coaster, escape rooms, all of it” as part of the deal, with a new SAW movie expected to be in development very soon.
One thing we do know is that Saw franchise creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell will be helping to “guide the future of the franchise” alongside Blumhouse and Lionsgate.
“SAW holds a special place in my heart,” Wan said. “Coming back to this world with a fresh perspective is thrilling and deeply personal. For me, this will mark a significant creative return to the 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.”
In a new in-depth conversation with Variety that was published this week, Jason Blum himself talks about Blumhouse’s plans for the SAW franchise for the first time.
“It’s really hard to make 10 movies in a franchise — I don’t take that away from the original series’ producers,” Blum notes. “And I’m grateful to them for allowing us to continue.”
Blum continues in the Variety interview, “My creative outlook is what I always preach: Get the people who made the magic in the first place more involved. James Wan [the original director] will be hugely involved. That’s how we’re going to reinvent it.”
Wan of course directed the original SAW, written by and starring Whannell, but it’s been a long time since Wan and Whannell have been directly involved with the franchise. SAW III way back in 2006 was the final film to have major involvement from the duo, with Whannell writing the screenplay based on an idea from he and Wan. The idea for that movie was to effectively end the SAW franchise, with the third installment killing off both Jigsaw and Amanda. Of course, that bold decision ended up having no real impact on the franchise’s future viability.
