Saw might die at VII

If you thought the assembly line churning out endless installments of SAW every year would never shut down, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. According to one of the co-writers of the last few films, Patrick Melton, the series might well be dead after its seventh installment, according to an interview with Demon FM (which you can listen to here). 

“I think it’s going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That’s something we’re debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn’t performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it’s going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don’t own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it’s going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame. And nothing’s official yet, but that’s where we’re hoping things will go. “

So it’s about the money, which really shouldn’t be a shock to anyone. The jigsaw puzzle-like plotlines of the first few SAW movies that fit into each other rather well have long since passed the franchise by, and by V, the writers were hastily fashioning new pieces and cramming them into places they should never have gone.

With SAW VI making under $50M worldwide (though still profitable with an $11M budget), those behind the series see things wrapping up because as Melton says, “No one wants to see the SAW franchise beaten to the ground and opening at five million dollars.” And with the last film opening at $14M, that’s a very real possibility.

However, should 3D prove to be a cash money shot in the arm to the series, I fully expect us to make it to SAW X, which at that point will have to be nothing more than a movie clip show, made up entirely of flashbacks to the previous nine installments.