Saw 6 back with us – and thus will be: meat, blood, guts and sophisticated mechanisms to retrieve this from the human body.
Saw 6 is already in the works. Here’s what we know so far.
The reviews are declining sharply for each sequel in the series – Saw (46% on rotten tomatoes), Saw 2 (36%), Saw 3 (26%), Saw 4 (18%), Saw 5 (14%). But the box office grosses aren’t. Since Saw 3, the opening weekend totals have only dropped by $2m each time:
2004 – Saw – $18.2M opening – $55.1M cume
2005 – Saw 2 – $31.72M opening – $87M cume
2006 – Saw 3 – $33.6M opening – $80.2M cume
2007 – Saw 4 – $31.7M opening – $63.3M cume
2008 – Saw 5 – $29M estimated opening
Saw 5’s production budget was reportedly only $10.8 million and any franchise that’s tripling its budget on opening weekend is not going to be abandoned. On this scale of decline, the series has a looong way to go before it’s considered no longer financially viable.
So what can we expect from Saw 6? Saw 5 director David Hackl has confirmed he’s stepping aside for Kevin Greutert, who’s edited every Saw movie to date. Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, who wrote Saws 4 and 5, will pen the screenplay.
As for returning cast members, Costas Mandylor (Mark Hoffman) has signed for Saw 6, as has Tobin Bell (Jigsaw).
The fate of Dr Gordon from Saw 1 remains the biggest mystery in the series. The reason he never reappeared in subsequent movies is that actor Cary Elwes filed a lawsuit in 2005 against the producers for shortchanging him on pay. The rumor is they have now made up and Leigh Whannell says Elwes might be back for Saw 6.
(Dr Gordon’s fate may actually be revealed in the upcoming Saw Video Game, since it’s written by original creators Leigh Whannell and James Wan and set at the same time as Saw 1).
There have also been hints that the infamous bathroom set could make a return, after an absence from Saw 5.
You can be damn sure that Saw 6 will be released Halloween 2009.
