As soon as Saw X, the tenth entry in the Saw franchise (you can read our review HERE), was released last September, franchise producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules were already talking about the potential of a Saw XI. The official announcement came in December, along with a release date: September 27th… but they’ve decided to take a little extra time with this one, so a couple months ago it was announced that Saw XI won’t be reaching theatres until September 26, 2025. The script is still in the works, though, and now we know the name of at least one person behind it: Marcus Dunstan, who says this is going to be an “angry” film.
Saw X screenwriters Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, who also wrote Jigsaw and Spiral: From the Book of Saw, let it be known a while back that they’re not returning for the new sequel – but the producers didn’t have to look far to find a replacement. Marcus Dunstan and co-writer Patrick Melton previously wrote Saw parts 4 through 7 (with Thomas Fenton also getting a story credit on Saw IV). Dunstan confirmed to Screen Rant that he’s writing Saw XI, and chances are that if he’s writing it, Melton is writing it with him.
Dunstan told Screen Rant, “We’re writing XI right now, and Kevin Greutert is returning to direct. That’s been since December, and that’s one where it’s got something new to say, and it’s angry.“
As Dunstan said, Saw X director Kevin Greutert will be back at the helm for Saw XI. Greutert edited the first five Saw movies, and did the same on Jigsaw. He made his feature directorial debut with Saw VI and signed on to direct Paranormal Activity 2 after that. That movie was scheduled to be released on the same day as the seventh Saw movie, Saw 3D – so Lionsgate decided to remove Saw V director David Hackl from Saw 3D and replace him with Greutert, stealing him away from Paramount and Paranormal Activity 2. The Paranormal sequel ended up being directed by Tod Williams and was released the week before Saw 3D. Between Saw 3D and Saw X, Greutert directed the genre films Jessabelle, Visions, and Jackals.
Leigh Whannell wrote the first three films, sharing story credit with James Wan on the first and third and screenplay credit with Darren Lynn Bousman on the second. As mentioned, Dunstan and Melton wrote the next four movies in the series, then we reached the Goldfinger/Stolberg era… and now it appears that Dunstan/Melton are back.
The Dunstan-directed slasher #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead just had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend and is set for an August 2nd theatrical, digital, and VOD release.
Are you looking forward to Saw XI, and to finding out what Marcus Dunstan says it’s so angry about? Let us know by leaving a comment below.