It looks like Jigsaw’s hit rough waters. Saw XI continues to hit setbacks after reports surfaced last week that production issues were delaying — and potentially cancelling — the eleventh film in the slasher franchise, with the latest being the loss of its September 26 release date. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the sequel has been removed from Lionsgate’s release calendar entirely, with The Strangers: Chapter 2 taking its place this fall.
The removal comes in the wake of Bloody Disgusting reporting that the film might be dead in the water, after an anonymous source said that “everything went sideways in January 2024 … the producers started fighting.” THR followed this up with their own report, where writer Patrick Melton says he hadn’t “heard anything since May [2024],” and that 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…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.”
It was announced in December 2023 that Kevin Gruetert would be directing the latest film in the franchise, which began with James Wan all the way back in 2004. Tobin Bell confirmed in October of last year that Jigsaw would indeed be returning for Saw XI, but that was the last we heard of the film, which would track with Melton’s claims that things have been stalled since last spring.
THR reports that, according to Melton, things may have stalled due to the sequel’s subject matter, which “focused on Jigsaw getting revenge on health insurance executives, with that theme gaining renewed relevance recently after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.” If that’s true, it may be quite some time before things move forward with the sequel, despite renewed interest in the franchise after the release of Saw X.
Meanwhile, The Strangers: Chapter 2 continues to plow forward despite lukewarm reception to the first installment remaking the cult-classic home invasion film, with producers Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon saying, “Like Strangers fans everywhere, we’re thrilled for Chapter 2 — it’s the kind of film that’ll have audiences watching through their fingers. Bringing it to theaters this Halloween season is perfect, and we can’t wait for everyone to see where the story goes next.”
Saw XI has been removed from Lionsgate’s release schedule, but keep an eye on FANGORIA for more updates as they arrive.
