Saw X director teases Amanda's hotly anticipated return

As we all know by now, Saw X, the tenth movie in the Saw franchise, is set right after the events of the first Saw movie. This jump back in time means that audiences will yet again get to see Tobin Bell reprise his role as John Kramer, but also one of his very first Jigsaw apprentices - Amanda Young. 

In an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+, Saw X director Kevin Greutert talked about the return of Amanda Young and the kind of role she will have in Jigsaw’s newest troupe of tasks. 

When asked if audiences can expect to see any character development for Amanda, Greutert said, "I would say that she’s a major character in this story and I really wanted to explore that area between what we see in Saw 1 where she’s a very vulnerable recovering drug addict and the kind of sassy rebel in Saw 3 but Saw 2 in a way doesn't really count as character development for her except to show that she's working with Jigsaw but she's playing the role for the other characters that are trapped in Saw 2, so this is an opportunity to sort of develop her character more."

Over the course of the franchise, notorious serial killer John Kramer has had many assistants to aid him with his murderous schemes and carry on his legacy long after his death. From the crazed Detective Hoffman to the reformed Dr. Lawrence Gordon, Jigsaw has never been short of a helping hand, but his most popular sidekick, and the clear fan favorite, has to be Amanda. 

Audiences first met Amanda Young, played by Shawnee Smith, way back in 2004 when she awoke in the ‘reverse bear trap’ in the first saw movie. By cutting out a key from another victim's stomach, Amanda was able to unlock the bear trap and free herself from the deadly machine, being one of the only victims to survive a Jigsaw test. Kramer decided to place Amanda in the trap in the first place as she was a destructive drug addict who, in his eyes, needed desperate reformation. 

Onward from the events of the first Saw movie, Amanda continues to thrive as John's accomplice, and through the next two movies, she is seen setting up her own traps and running her own Jigsaw games on behalf of Kramer. However, Amanda’s passionate and short-tempered nature causes her to set up traps that are inescapable and fail to align with Kramer’s seemingly more ethical practices. Her actions later lead to her death at the end of Saw 3 but through a series of flashbacks she, like Kramer, manages to appear in almost every movie in the franchise.  

Saw X follows Kramer in his desperate search for a miracle cancer cure. However, when he discovers that the promised procedure is a scam, he takes revenge on those involved the only way he knows how. 

Saw X will hit theaters on #SawTenber (September) 29. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best new horror movies coming our way in 2023 and beyond.