"Saw XI Stalled: Lionsgate and Producer Tensions"

I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but it's game over for the Saw franchise, at least for the time being. It has been confirmed that the much-anticipated Saw XI has been officially stalled and will not meet its originally scheduled fall release.

This delay, however, isn't due to creative differences. “We haven’t heard anything since May,” Saw XI screenwriter Patrick Melton revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.”

According to the publication, Melton and his writing partner Marcus Dunstan submitted a draft of the script back in spring 2024, which is approaching a year ago. Melton elaborated: “The reason it’s held up is just, there’s inter-squabbling between producers and Lionsgate. They just can’t quite get on the same page.”

Frequent franchise director Kevin Gruetert was attached to the project back in December 2023, when it was slated for a September 2024 release. However, fans were devastated when the film was delayed by a full year, pushing the new release date to September 2025. Die-hard fans of the series had hoped the delay would enhance the storytelling, especially following the box office success of Saw X. The 10th installment revitalized the franchise, grossing over $120 million globally during its theatrical run, which naturally spurred executives to greenlight Saw XI.

What's particularly disappointing is that the 11th installment was set to tackle a timely topic. Although plot details for Saw XI have been kept under wraps, Melton likened the plot to that of Saw VI, which he and Dunstan wrote and Gruetert directed. In Saw VI, lead character John Kramer, aka Jigsaw (played by Tobin Bell), targets a group of health insurance executives for revenge.

“Saw XI may or may not be made, but we have a very timely story in it, and I hope it gets made just because of that,” Melton told THR.

“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.” It would have been fascinating to see the Saw franchise revisit these themes and explore them differently, especially given the current state of the world — but unfortunately, it seems we may never get to see this vision come to life.