The Saw franchise is set to make its return on 14th May with the ninth instalment Spiral: From the Book of Saw, however, one of the staples of the series won’t be making an appearance.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Spiral director Darren Lynn Bousman explained that Billy the puppet won’t be returning to the franchise as the series wants to differentiate itself from Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw/John Kramer and the new Jigsaw killer.
“If I was brought in to direct Saw 9, that would be a much different thing than being brought in to direct Spiral, and I think that it’s important for me to differentiate the two,” Bousman said. “And I didn’t want to insult the fans by trying to make another Jigsaw because there’s only one Tobin Bell, and no one can hold a candle to what he brought into that character. So for me, I wanted to go a completely different way. I wanted the killer to be so different from Jigsaw that there would be no comparison to that. They are different people. So when you start going down that road, you have to change out kind of everything. Because if you’re trading out Jigsaw, you’ve got to change out the doll as well.”
SEE ALSO: Exclusive Interview – Darren Lynn Bousman dishes on his new film Spiral: From The Book of Saw
A sadistic mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in SPIRAL, the terrifying new chapter from the book of SAW. Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw is written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, who also wrote the last instalment, 2017’s Jigsaw, with Darren Lynn Bousman returning to direct the film having previously directed Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV. The film stars Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, and Marisol Nichols.
