The title for the eighth outing in the Saw franchise has finally been revealed as Jigsaw, which sees Lionsgate dropping the production of Saw: Legacy.

It had been revealed years ago by the franchise creators, James Wan and Leigh Whannell that in fact, the original title was Jigsaw, does this mean that the franchise is paying homage to its roots? Well, according to the Lionsgate synopsis we can expect to see bodies turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one man: John Kramer. But how can this be? The man known as Jigsaw has been dead for over a decade. Or has an apprentice picked up the mantle of Jigsaw, perhaps even someone inside the investigation?

Jigsaw

Directed by Peter and Michael Spierig, the cast for the eighth film in the franchise includes Mandela Van Peebles, Laura Vandervoort, Brittany Allen, Callum Keith Rennie, Matt Passmore, Hannah Emily Anderson, Josiah Black, Shaquan Lewis, Michael Bolsvert, and James Gomez. The original Jigsaw, Tobin Bell is said to be returning to the series but in what capacity hasn’t been made clear at this point.

In his signature black and red robes, Jigsaw was a former civil engineer dying from an inoperable frontal lobe tumour that had developed from colon cancer. After a failed suicide attempt, Kramer found a new appreciation for his life and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to inspiring the same appreciation in others by testing their will to live.

His methods include forcing his subjects through deadly scenarios, which he referred to as “games” or “tests”, in which they were forced to inflict pain upon themselves or others in order to escape. These tests were typically symbolic of what Jigsaw perceived as a flaw in each person’s moral character or life. The Jigsaw name was given to him by the media for his practice of cutting a puzzle piece shape of flesh from those who fail.

Jigsaw is due to be released in October 2017