Saw has become an annual tradition. There's been a Saw sequel every year since the original, a record for any franchise, even the lucrative Friday the 13ths. Now the writers of this year's Saw VI are getting a jump on next year's entry.

"In fact, just this morning in talking about Saw VII with director David Hackl," said screenwriter Patrick Melton on Wednesday. "We were brainstorming the traps for the newest installation that's going in front of cameras in January."

And brainstorm they must, because there have already been six films full of Jigsaw's brutal traps. "Really, the thing about traps, it's much more analytical than you might think," Melton continued. "A lot of times you have to think, 'What have we done and what can we do and then what kind of scene can we use just for this one?' Once you narrow it down to that, it's so much easier. Okay, what are the trap themes for VI? What are the trap themes for VII? Once you get into that world, you focus a little bit better because yeah, we have done quite a bit. We do run through ideas, like oh wait a minute, that was done in II. We can't do that [again]."

Fans of the series know that Jigsaw himself died at the end of Saw III. That hasn't stopped actor Tobin Bell, who continues to play Jigsaw in flashbacks that explain more and more of the Saw mythology.

"Well, it is a struggle to keep it organic but in the case of VI, everything came together," said cowriter Marcus Dunstan. "There was a story we were hanging onto that really anchored him into it and made it vital and emotional. So that we were allowed to tread into that arena was terrific. It really worked out. Tobin in this entry is also given a lot of opportunity to just act as this film's anchor as he has been from the beginning. It serves the film wonderfully."

Image © Lionsgate Entertainment

Even though VII is already set to film in January, Melton said that VI feels like the conclusion of a trilogy, just as III concluded the Jigsaw/Amanda arc. "There is a feeling of resolution and closure at the end of VI that ends the trilogy," Melton said. "This new one, VII feels different. It's going to feel and look sort of different in that it's starting something anew. Obviously, you haven't seen VI so I can't give too much away at the end of VI but at the end of VI, you will definitely feel resolution but there will be something there that is going to springboard us into the next one. It's not a loose end. You're going to have that feeling of closure of these three movies and then a natural transition to the next chapter in the Saw world with VII."

Saw VI opens this October.




Story/Interview by Fred Topel

Starpulse contributing writer

(Starpulse in Hollywood): Every week, Hollywood's biggest stars are meeting in the hot spots and Starpulse is there.