Saw series returns to cinemas this Halloween, with new sequel Jigsaw

That creepy puppet in James Wan's 2004 original 'Saw' (credit: Lionsgate)
That creepy puppet in James Wan’s 2004 original ‘Saw’ (credit: Lionsgate)

After a six-year hiatus, gory horror series ‘Saw’ is coming back to the big screen – and now we know the title of the latest film in the series.

Having been shot under the working title ‘Saw: Legacy,’ Bloody Disgusting report that the film will be released as ‘Jigsaw’ this Halloween.

As fans of the franchise will be aware, Jigsaw is the ghoulish nickname of ‘Saw’s central figure, the serial killer John Kramer, played by actor Tobin Bell, who lays out nightmarish death traps which his victims must successfully navigate if they hope to get out alive – which, of course, they very rarely do.

While ‘Jigsaw’ is officially a continuation of the existing ‘Saw’ series as opposed to a back-to-square-one reboot, this new title would seem to underline that the film from directors Peter and Michael Spierig (‘Daybreakers,’ ‘Predestination’) represents a fresh start of sorts for the franchise.

Teaser art for upcoming 'Saw' revival 'Jigsaw' (credit: Lionsgate)
Teaser art for upcoming ‘Saw’ revival ‘Jigsaw’ (credit: Lionsgate)

It’s the eighth film in the series which began in 2004 with director James Wan’s debut ‘Saw.’ Six sequels followed, arriving annually on Halloween, until the series bowed out with 2010’s ‘Saw 3D’ (AKA ‘Saw: The Final Chapter’). The existing seven films took a cumulative $873 million at the global box office.

Here’s what we know about ‘Jigsaw’ from studio Lionsgate’s official synopsis: ‘Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one man: John Kramer.

‘But how can this be? The man known as Jigsaw has been dead for over a decade. Or has an apprentice picked up the mantle of Jigsaw, perhaps even someone inside the investigation?’

No great shocker here: ‘Jigsaw’ has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for ‘grisly bloody violence and torture.’ All seven existing ‘Saw’ films got 18 certificates from Britain’s BBFC, so it seems very likely indeed that’ll be the case on ‘Jigsaw.’

‘Jigsaw’ is set to open in UK cinemas on 20 October.

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