14 DAY TRIAL // Had you bet money that “Saw VII” (“Saw 3D”), also called “The Final Chapter,” wasn't really the final installment in the franchise, you'd probably be rich now. Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns has just confirmed it – and we have it on video.
Granted, the chance that Lionsgate really wanted to pull the plug on “Saw” was a slim one from the start, even if the latest installment ended up disappointing many: it still made a lot of money.
Now, the studio boss himself is confirming that “Saw” might live to see another day. Burns sat down for an interview with CNBC to speak about a rumored merger of Lionsgate with Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the “Twilight” juggernaut.
At the moment, Lionsgate doesn't have an ongoing successful franchise, though it's coming out with a new one in 2012, “The Hunger Games.” It will also release “The Expendables 2,” but the Sylvester Stallone project isn't yet a franchise.
These being said, going back to “Saw” would be a smart business choice, since it has one of the most loyal fans in the world when it comes to horror franchises.
“I’m sure, some day, you’ll see Saw back in the picture,” Burns says in the interview.
Again, for fans, this is hardly a surprise. Back in April this year, talk first started making the rounds that Lionsgate was considering coming out with an 8th film, after some well-placed hints by people closely involved in the development of the previous 7 movies.
James Wan and Leigh Whannell wrote and directed the first “Saw” in 2004 and then worked as producers on the others. It was them who first hinted that they'd already started talking about another installment.
“We would want to do something that is a bit of a different take. That’s probably what it would take,” Whannell said, as we also informed you at the time.
“I would say you can always count on capitalism, guys. That’s all I have to say. It is finished for now, but the fact that it’s such a huge, well-known franchise, means that it’s going to come back at some point,” Wan chimed in.
In other words, keep an eye on this space for an official statement.