Saw Producer On Why They Were “Idiots” to Ever Kill Off Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw

by

As a seasoned horror gaming veteran with over two decades under my belt, I must say that the decision to off Tobin Bell’s iconic character Jigsaw in the Saw franchise was akin to pulling the rug out from under the very foundation of the game itself. It was like discovering that the monster under your bed had retired, or worse yet, moved out!

Horror villains never really die, they just change forms. Jason became a zombie, Ghostface just kept putting new people under the mask, and even Michael Myers found ways to survive everything from decapitations to explosions (most of the time, anyway). But for some very human killers, it takes some serious plot acrobatics to bring them back from the dead. It can happen, though, especially when producers realize their mistake at some point. 

In 2023, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly about Saw X and the broader Saw series (which is now available for streaming on Peacock), producer Oren Koules admitted to orchestrating the demise of the franchise’s main antagonist prematurely. This decision created a thought-provoking conundrum for a series that aimed to continue despite losing its defining character.

For More on Saw

A Look into the Complex and Gripping Sequence of Events in the Saw Horror Series

Why it was a bad idea to kill off Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw in the Saw franchise

In simpler terms, Koules acknowledged that they were responsible for ending the main storyline post-“Saw III”. However, he questioned the longevity of audience suspension of disbelief when the character is terminally ill with cancer.

In the concluding scenes of the movie “Saw,” Tobin Bell established a powerful presence as John Kramer, a former engineer who transformed into a ruthless serial killer following a terminal cancer diagnosis. When his failed suicide attempt sparked a renewed zest for life, Kramer came to believe that inflicting pain could offer people a fresh perspective on their lives. Consequently, he embarked on a chilling journey to construct a sequence of macabre “games” intended to challenge and test his victims.

Indeed, as Kroules pointed out, making the main antagonist of Saw, John, terminally ill with cancer posed a challenge for the series, and eventually he was written off. Since the Saw franchise is not supernatural, John remains deceased to this day. However, we’ve seen Bell in flashbacks and pre-recorded messages to other characters throughout the years while Jigsaw’s followers continued his violent legacy. The latest installment, Saw X, breaks this trend by providing Bell with a significant role in the storyline, set between the events of the original Saw and Saw II.

Producer Mark Berg noted that Tobin appears on-screen significantly more in this film compared to the previous five or six movies collectively. He even starts and finishes the movie, being present from beginning to end.

Read More

2024-09-02 19:31