It seems Jigsaw's reign of terror might be over. Saw 11 is caught in the middle of a squabble between producers leading to an indefinite stall and potential cancellation, according to multiple sources.
We were meant to see Saw 11 this coming September, but no progress has been made on the upcoming movie since the first half of 2024, co-writer Patrick Melton says. "We haven’t heard anything since May. It's stalled at a managerial level," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There's higher-level things at play."
Melton and Marcus Dunstan, his writing partner on the project, completed a draft of the horror sequel in May 2024. Melton and Dunstan have been writing for Saw since the fourth film, giving them good insight into how Jigsaw and the movies work. Their angle on the story is socially conscious, with a comparison to Saw 6 from 2009, where Jigsaw went after health insurance companies.
"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 explains.
He adds the reason for the hold up is "inter-squabbling" between Lionsgate and producers, and he believes the fate of Saw 11 is up in the air. Bloody Disgusting's report is a little more pessimistic.
"It's totally dead. It's 100% over. Almost a year now," a source told Bloody Disgusting. Their timeline goes back to January 2024, when a rift opened between two producers. One wanted to push forward, the other inhibited progress, and Lionsgate had nobody in the mix to mitigate issues.
Bloody Disgusting's source believes if we get another Saw movie, it'll "start over" in some shape or form. It's a shame, because Saw 10 did extremely well in 2023, re-introducing Tobin Bell’s John Kramer to the franchise after Spiral and reigniting the films for another glut of installments.
Now we might be waiting another six years, or more, for a mainline sequel. Kevin Greutert, who's handled several Saw sequels, was due to direct. We'll keep you posted.
Have a look at our list of upcoming horror movies for releases still expected to creep into cinemas this year, and our guide to all the Saw movies will help you reminisce on Jigsaw's work so far.
