Lionsgate has moved Chris Rock’s upcoming “Saw” reboot forward by five months to May 15, 2020, vacating the pre-Halloween date of Oct. 23, 2020.
The studio indicated Monday that it decided to move the untitled “Saw” movie into the summer slot after seeing early footage from the set of the film currently shooting in Toronto. The move comes three days after Universal announced that it had scheduled its “Halloween Kills” movie, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, for Oct. 16, 2020.
The “Saw” reboot — the ninth in the 15-year-old franchise — becomes the second title set for May 15. Warner Bros. has set its animated Scooby-Doo feature film “Scoob” for the same date.
Rock will play a police detective investigating a series of grisly crimes. Samuel L. Jackson will portray Rock’s father. Max Minghella, who stars in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and recently directed “Teen Spirit,” also joins the cast as the partner of Rock’s character. “Riverdale” actress Marisol Nichols will play a police captain.
Lionsgate is keeping details of the plot under wraps other than saying it will offer deviously treacherous traps, clever clues and the edge-of-the-seat suspense that fans expect.
Longtime “Saw” filmmakers Mark Burg and Oren Koules returned to produce “Saw.” Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed the second, third and fourth “Saw” movies, is directing the new movie. The decision to revisit the series was inspired by Rock’s love of the franchise.
The franchise revolves around the fictional character John Kramer, also called the Jigsaw Killer, who traps victims in situations that test their will to live. Tobin Bell has portrayed Jigsaw in all eight films. The low-cost titles have been highly profitable for Lionsgate, grossing nearly $1 billion worldwide. The most recent movie was 2017’s “Jigsaw,” which earned $100 million worldwide.
Source: Variety
