"Saw XI Delayed: Lionsgate and Producer Disputes"

I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but it’s game over for the Saw franchise, at least for now. It has been confirmed that the upcoming Saw XI has officially been stalled and, at this point, will not be released in the fall as originally scheduled.

However, this delay isn’t due to creative issues. “We haven’t heard anything since May,” Saw XI screenwriter Patrick Melton told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.”

According to the publication, Melton and his writing partner Marcus Dunstan submitted a draft of the script in spring 2024, nearly a year ago. Melton added, “The reason it’s held up is just, there’s inter-squabbling between producers and Lionsgate. They just can’t quite get on the same page.”

Frequent franchise director Kevin Gruetert was attached to the project back in December 2023, when it was given a September 2024 release date. But fans were devastated when the film was ultimately delayed for an entire year, rescheduling to September 2025. Franchise diehards had hoped this delay was for the greater good of the story, especially after the box office success of Saw X. The 10th installment had revitalized the franchise, earning over $120 million globally during its theatrical run, which naturally had executives eager to produce Saw XI.

What’s even more disappointing is that the 11th installment was set to tackle a timely topic. Though plot details for Saw XI have not been disclosed, Melton compared its plot to that of Saw VI, which he and Dunstan wrote and Gruetert directed. In Saw VI, lead John Kramer, aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), seeks revenge on a group of health insurance executives.

“Saw XI may or may not be made, but we have a very timely story in it, and I hope it gets made just because of that,” Melton told THR.

“It taps into the same themes of Saw VI, where you’re a citizen, you feel angry and frustrated with something, you feel like you can’t do anything, and John Kramer’s going to do it.” It would be fascinating to see the Saw franchise revisit these themes and how they would approach them differently, given current global circumstances — but sadly, it seems we may never know.