If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Saw X director says the studio probably "regrets" killing off Jigsaw in Saw III

Jigsaw was killed off in the name of creative integrity.

The Jigsaw puppet in Saw X
Image credit: Lionsgate

We all do things in the heat of the moment. Sometimes we say things we don’t mean or even kill off a now iconic horror villain just three movies into a ten-film series. These are the kinds of decisions that the producers of the Saw series have come to regret, according to the director of Saw X.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Greutert explained that there is at least a little bit of regret regarding the decision to kill John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, in Saw III, saying “It would just be a lot easier to make these films if that hadn’t happened, but at the same time, the first three were largely considered the best of the Saw series.” He later added, “There’s definitely a lot of desire to have not killed him off.”

Considering a major part of Jigsaw’s motivation has been the terminal brain cancer he has been diagnosed with, not killing him off or, even worse, finding a way to cure his incurable cancer would have felt like a cop-out to fans of the series. “Decisively killing the character off, that integrity as it was perceived at the time at least, was pretty important to making the story great.”

The choice led to some interesting narrative choices to keep Jigsaw involved without losing that integrity. The most recent entry, Saw X, gets around the limitation of killing off the main villain by taking place between the first two films when Kramer was still alive and killing.


Not sure what other films are just over the horizon? We’ve got an up-to-date guide to every film hitting theaters and streaming services over the next several months.

Trent Cannon

Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)

Comments

Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.

View Comments (0)

Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy