Saw X Team Reveal How Sequel Pays Tribute to First Films in Horror Series

Lionsgate is getting ready to release the tenth installment of the Saw franchise, and it has fans of the movies pretty excited about what comes next. From everything we've seen in the first trailer for Saw X, they're going in a direction that no one could have foreseen and are bringing back John Kramer (Tobin Bell). Billy the Puppet is also back for Saw X, and we got to see our first look at him in action in the trailer as well as a previous first look that confirmed his return. With the franchise going back to its roots with the return of John Kramer and Billy, it only makes sense for them to pay some sort of homage to the first few Saw films, and the team behind the movie has confirmed that it indeed does.

How Does Saw X Pay Homage to Original films?

While at the Midsummer Scream 2023 convention (Via The Direct), Saw X's production team was featured in a panel for the upcoming movie, and they revealed some interesting things about the upcoming tenth film in the franchise. Director Kevin Greutert, production designer Anthony Stabley, cinematographer Nick Matthews, and producer Oren Koules all attended the panel, but the latter two revealed exactly how the film pays tribute to the horror franchise.

"I think for Kevin and I, it was really important that we were able to pay homage to all the early films, we love that the early films are 1:85 (ratio), we love that they're textural, that they're gritty, that there's these really bold, yellow color palettes, and we want to do our work to hearken to that, with pervasive darkness, and really throwing the audience subjectively right into this graphic, gritty world," Matthews said. "So it was just a lot of fun for me to be able to enter this world and then also bring a certain elegance and beauty to it at the same time. I love beauty and brutality. And I want that in everything that I do."

"John is absolutely... the protagonist in this movie. He is a man who's ill. He's a guy who was looking to extend his life. And in this process of him thinking, he's getting his life extended, shit goes down. There it is, but he's absolutely the hero of this movie. He's in this movie… [I haven't] done the math, but probably [more than] the last six or seven movies combined. This is his movie... This is John Kramer's story as a human, not as Jigsaw--we'll get there, trust me, but as a human, and like, you know, his fears and what's going on in his life at the time." Koules added.

What is Saw X About?

Here's Lionsgate official synopsis for Saw X: "John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is back. The most disturbing installment of the Saw franchise yet explores the untold chapter of Jigsaw's most personal game. Set between the events of Saw I and II, a sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer – only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps."

Saw began by releasing seven installments, with James Wan's (Aquaman) breakout film in 2004 starting off the franchise, and concluding with 2010's Saw 3D: The Final Chapter. After the film franchise concluded, the franchise was left in stasis for a few years, before attempting to reboot the franchise two times. Jigsaw (2017) told the story of Kramer's secret first apprentice, who was recruited from the early stages of his evil deeds before the first Saw film. Meanwhile, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) unveiled a film that featured a copycat that uses Jigsaw's legacy to begin an era of even more wrongdoings. Both attempts were met with negative reactions, which is why Lionsgate is going back to a fan-favorite director and the franchise star in the latest installment. 

Saw X is scheduled to be released on September 29th. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more updates on the Saw franchise as we learn them.

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