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Forgive me, "elevated" horror fans, but I’m kind of rooting for Saw. Have I seen every single installment? Well, perhaps not, but how many frightful franchises have you heard of getting ELEVEN theatrical releases? So you can imagine my disappointment upon hearing that Saw XI has been delayed, a disappointment compounded by the fact that, apparently, the film is stalled because of its managers.

The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, who published an interview with Saw XI’s co-writer Patrick Melton on March 17. According to Melton, who will craft the script with Marcus Dunstan, “We haven’t heard anything since May.”

That’s troubling news for Saw fans, especially since the eleventh installment in the franchise, which has been in existence since 2004, was slated to release this fall. "It’s stalled at a managerial level,” Melton explains, “It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play."

In a typical interview like this, "higher level things," would be all we’d get in terms of an explanation, but brave Melton goes a little bit further in expressing his frustration.

"The reason [Saw XI is] held up," he details, "Is just, there’s inter-squabbling between producers and Lionsgate. They just can’t quite get on the same page."

That said, Melton still has hope.

"We have a very timely story in it," the writer tells THR, "and I hope it gets made just because of that. [...] It taps into the same themes of Saw VI, where you’re a citizen, you feel angry and frustrated with something, you feel like you can’t do anything, and John Kramer’s going to do it."

Public rage and the desire for brutal justice certainly is timely, even though (as THR points out) the specifics of Saw XI’s plot are still under wraps. Hopefully, we’ll get to see what Melton is talking about in the near future, but if the current state of the movie is any indication, I wouldn’t put money on that happening this fall as intended. Is Halloween 2026 too much to hope for?

I don’t know, but I do know I’m pulling for you, Jigsaw.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

• The best horror movies of all time, according to horror aficionado Greg Silber
• The most underrated horror movies from the past couple years
• All the new and upcoming horror movies for 2025 and beyond

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.