As horror nerds will likely have heard, things have actually been more dramatic behind the cameras in Saw Land in recent years than in front of them, as horror studio Blumhouse sought to buy out the franchise’s rights from Twisted Pictures, the company that’s produced every installment since ponying up the cash for the first one way back in 2004. That push arrived, not coincidentally, alongside news that Blumhouse was teaming up with Atomic Monster, the production company founded by original Saw director James Wan, who used that film as his initial springboard into a career that’s made him one of the most lucrative horror directors of all time. Reports about the acquisition—which also allowed Lionsgate to continue profiting off of the consistently cash-generating franchise, which has clocked more than a billion dollars at the box office over the last 22 years—suggested it’ll give Wan (and co-creator Leigh Whannell, a frequent Blumhouse collaborator) a little more say in what happens to the franchise going forward.
Which apparently includes throwing it over to Nelson, the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake director who’s currently got “big-ass murderous snake” movie Boiúna headed into theaters next month. We don’t know what angle Nelson is taking with the film—the script in the video literally just calls itself “Untitled Saw”—but it’s not like Saw as a concept is super complicated: Come up with some genuinely good trap designs, make up some assholes to subject them to, and give the thing the very lightest sheen of social consciousness, and you’re most of the way there. That being said, it’ll be interesting to see what Wan’s oversight—and Blumhouse’s money—will be able to do for the franchise’s return.
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