Samuel L. Jackson agrees to play a game and joins Chris Rock’s Saw film

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Of all the people who would resurrect the SAW franchise, I never would have suspected that it would be Chris Rock. "I’ve been a fan of Saw since the first film in 2004," said Rock in a statement when the project was announced. "I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place." The new reimagining is in production now, and it's been announced that Samuel L. Jackson (SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME) has joined the cast. Can't pretend that I saw that coming either.

In addition to Jackson, Marisol Nichols (Riverdale) and Max Minghella (The Handmaid's Tale) have also joined up as well. The as-yet-untitled SAW film will find Chris Rock starring as a police detective investigating a series of gruesome crimes, with Samuel L. Jackson playing Rock's father. Minghella will play Rock's partner and Nichols will play Capt. Angie Garza, Rock's boss on the force. "We think Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock along with Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols make this film completely special in the Saw canon and we can’t wait to unleash this unexpected and sinister new story on fans of this franchise. This is next level of ‘Saw’ on full tilt," said Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate motion picture group, in a statement.

Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed three installments of the franchise, has returned to direct from a screenplay by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, who penned JIGSAW. On Twitter, Stolberg has confirmed that the film is not a reboot. "It is canon. All the films exist in the same universe. And who knows, maybe Saw X will tie all the stories together. You never know," Stolberg said. "I can say with pretty much certainly that our new film will NOT be called Jigsaw 2. But I don't make the decisions, so who knows. But it's NOT a sequel to Jigsaw. It's DEFINITELY in the timeline of ALL the films though." I'm very curious to see just how this new take on the long-running franchise plays out, particularly with Chris Rock's involvement. Severed fingers crossed. The new SAW film is set for an October 23, 2020 release.