The tenth installment in the Saw franchise has had fans on the edge of their seat waiting for news ever since it was announced Tobin Bell would be returning to the role of John Kramer. And today saw the release of that hotly anticipated update via Lionsgate Pictures, releasing news of three new cast members: Michael Beach, Steven Brand, & Synnøve Macody Lund.
Beach is a series regular on shows like S.W.A.T. and Truth Be Told and is best known for playing strong detective types. This may hint at his role as a possible member of the police force in search of Jigsaw in the wake of his latest games.
Brand, notable for voice acting work in games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, may be recognized by horror fans for his role in the 2017 Steven Yeun action-horror film Mayhem. Lund plays matriarch Ran on the popular Netflix show Ragnarok, a fantasy series surrounding a family of jötunn living in modern day Norway.
There’s been plenty of buzz about returning cast as well, with Shawnee Smith reportedly being in talks to reprise her role as fan favorite Amanda Young, the Jigsaw victim turned secret collaborator and the first in a long line of apprentices. While it is very possible, this is still unconfirmed.
The last entry in the billion-dollar franchise was 2021’s Spiral: From the Book of Saw, a spinoff that implied a series of similar films to come. It seems this avenue may be taking the back burner, as Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ new mission statement with Saw X is to “[capture] everything Saw fans love about the franchise, while also keeping them guessing with all-new traps and a new mystery to solve.”
This return to form is especially evident given that the director for this project is Kevin Greutert, who edited the first five films in the franchise and directed both Saw VI and Saw: The Final Chapter. The script for X is also penned by Saw alums Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg.
Saw X is tentatively set to release on October 27th , 2023.