Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock to Star in the Newest Saw Film
Photos by Daniele Venturelli/Getty, Earl Gibson III/Getty Movies News Saw
It’s time to play a game … again. The Saw franchise is back and this time, actors Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock are set to star in the film, per Entertainment Weekly.
The torture-porn franchise is getting a breath of new life from comedian Rock, who has helped to craft the latest installment. “I’ve been a fan of Saw since the first film in 2004,” Rock told EW. “I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place.”
Not only is Rock spearheading the new film, but it has also been announced that him and Jackson will be its lead actors. Rock is set to portray a police detective investigating a bunch of grotesque crimes, while Jackson is set to portray his father. (The 70-year-old Jackson has 16 years on Rock, in case you were wondering.)
The film will also star Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Rock’s partner and Marisol Nichols (Riverdale) as Rock’s boss. The film is being adapted by Jigsaw writers Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg from a story idea by Rock. Saw veteran Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Saw III) is set to direct the film.
“We think Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock along with Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols make this film completely special in the Saw canon and we can’t wait to unleash this unexpected and sinister new story on fans of this franchise,” Joe Drake, Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement, per EW. “This is [the] next level of Saw on full tilt.”
Set for release on Oct. 23, 2020, the film is said to be a “a Saw experience.” This is hardly the first time a comedian like Rock has jumped to horror. Danny McBride nabbed a writing credit on David Gordon Green’s Halloween, and John Krasinski wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed A Quiet Place, to name just a recent example or two. Nonetheless, the forthcoming Saw film is sure to have oodles of gore and the franchise’s mascot Billy the Puppet riding around on his little tricycle for the nth time.