Saw director James Wan shares his one condition for directing another film in the franchise after 18 years. Wan directed the first Saw movie, which sees two men trapped in a bathroom as part of a deadly game designed by the serial killer Jigsaw. The original Saw earned more than $109 million against a $1.2 million budget. Wan has since become an executive producer for the franchise, which consists of nine more Saw movies.
With the horror classic turning 20, Wan discusses the possibility of him helming another film in the Saw franchise in an interview with People. The horror director admits that he "would never say never," but with multiple projects in his pipeline, he has a condition that has to be met. Check out what he said below:
I would never say never, but
it would have to be something extremely special
for me to want to step back in. And right now, I have so many other projects that I'm cooking in the pipeline that mean a lot to me. So I would rather work on those and see those get off the ground before something else that I've already done.
Never Say Never
Wan doesn't shut down the idea of helming another film in the franchise. However, based on his comments, it seems that the director is waiting for the right time and the right project. He's currently working on M3GAN 2.0 with director Michael Chaves, The Monkey with Oz Perkins, and an untitled Saw movie with Kevin Greutert. This means there needs to be an incredibly compelling idea to make Wan want to return to Saw as a director, so compelling that it beats all the other projects he's focused on.
Wan is best known for starting a potential franchise and helping it grow. With 10 films already in the Saw franchise, the director is also more inclined to assist other directors and allow them to add something else to the franchise. However, based on what Wan said, if a future Saw project sparks his interest, he would return to the director's chair.
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Wan is responsible for creating Billy the puppet and many other elements that define the iconic franchise. As a horror director, most of Wan's works end up cult classics. From The Conjuring and its sequel, along with Insidious and its sequel, Wan is widely recognized as one of the best directors in the horror genre, and Saw is arguably James Wan's best work to date.
In the same interview, the director admitted that he wouldn't have taken the franchise in the same direction if he was helming the films. However, he recognizes the great work others did in popularizing the franchise and making it the way he wouldn't have. For many, Saw is still the best in the franchise, and if the director was to direct another, that'd be really cool. On the other hand, unless it's something very special, it's also unlikely that Wan will top his own work.
Saw XI, the next film in the franchise, is set to be released in theaters on September 26, 2025.
The Saw film franchise is an anthology of horror films centered around the Jigsaw Killer, a mastermind who crafts elaborate traps to test his victims' will to live. Victims, often morally flawed, are forced into gruesome games where they must inflict severe pain on themselves or others to survive.
Movie(s) Saw (2004) , Saw 2 (2005) , Saw 3 (2006) , Saw 4 (2007) , Saw 5 (2008) , Saw 6 (2009) , Saw 3D (2010) , Jigsaw (2017) , Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) , Saw X (2023)
First Film Saw (2004)
Upcoming Films Saw XI
Cast Tobin Bell , Shawnee Smith , Costas Mandylor , Betsy Russell , Cary Elwes , Danny Glover , Leigh Whannell , Donnie Wahlberg , Lyriq Bent
Character(s) John Kramer , Amanda Young , Mark Hoffman , Jill Tuck , Dr. Lawrence Gordon , Detective David Tapp , Adam Stanheight , Detective Eric Matthews , Lieutenant Daniel Rigg
English (US) ·