Billy the Puppet, Jigsaw’s loyal avatar of 20 years, insists he still has a job—regardless of what Lionsgate’s release schedule says. Unfortunately, despite a cheeky press release papering over reports that Saw XI is in trouble, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Jigsaw’s latest adventure has been pulled from the release schedule entirely and replaced with the long-delayed Strangers: Chapter 2.
“I’ve seen the rumors,” Billy says in a statement from Lionsgate. “They say it’s Game Over. You all should know me better than that. The game is never over.” Yet, after Blood Disgusting reported that Saw XI was dead last week, screenwriter Patrick Melton told The Hollywood Reporter that producers and Lionsgate were fighting over a movie they should probably know how to make by now. According to Melton, he and writing partner Marcus Dunstan handed in a draft of Saw XI in May 2024, hoping to meet a September 26 release date. However, Saw “stalled at a managerial level,” Melton says before revealing that his script was about John Kramer, a.k.a. Jigsaw inflicting his infamous form of revenge on health insurance executives, which might have made some execs skittish following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Nevertheless, to prove that Billy the Puppet can still inspire some measure of virality on social media, Billy launched a LinkedIn page confirming the puppet is “#employed.” It also states he is a homeschooled life coach at Lionsgate with “experience in civil engineering [and] game design.” It’s all very cute but doesn’t bring us closer to Saw XI, nor does it answer any questions about its status. Instead, Lionsgate gave Saw XI‘s release date to Renny Harlins’ Strangers remake, which we already forgot was part of a trilogy that has been finished since November 2022. Maybe three years of collecting dust and cobwebs is just what The Strangers needs to plus up the serviceable, forgettable Chapter 1.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 hits theaters on September 26. Billy the Puppet will probably be there. What else does he have going on?
