Spiral Director Explains Why Saw 9 Replaced Billy The Puppet
Spiral: From the Book of Saw director Darren Lynn Bousman spoke recently about the decision to replace Billy the Puppet in the ninth film of the Saw franchise. Billy the Puppet became a recognizable image prominently featured throughout all previous Saw films as a signature of John Kramer, AKA the Jigsaw Killer. Billy would often show up to taunt victims or even deliver instructions on how they could survive the deathtraps Jigsaw had prepared. The title of the new film, Spiral, even draws from Billy's design as he features red spirals on each cheek.
Spiral is based on an idea from Chris Rock as a way to continue the Saw franchise in a new direction. Rock also stars in the film as Detective Ezekiel "Zeke" Banks, who finds himself investigating a slew of killings that harken back to the work of the Jigsaw Killer. Given that Jigsaw met his end in Saw 3 with his proteges continuing his work through future sequels, the detectives fear their most likely culprit is a copycat killer. Spiral is directed by a franchise veteran in Bousman who has previously directed Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV. Rock will also share the screen with Max Minghella and Samuel L. Jackson. The script was written by Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, who wrote the franchise's previous installment, Jigsaw.
In an interview with RadioTimes, Bousman talked about why the decision was made to swap out the iconic Billy puppet for a new puppet that looks like a pig in a police officer's uniform. He made it very clear, saying, "Spiral: From the Book of Saw is not called Saw 9 for a reason." He went on to praise Tobin Bell's performance as Jigsaw, saying, "no one can hold a candle to what he brought into that character." With that in mind, the production wanted to bring in a new killer, and as Bousman put it, "if you’re trading out Jigsaw, you’ve got to change out the doll as well." Bousman said:
"If I was brought in to direct Saw 9, that would be a much different thing than being brought in to direct Spiral, and I think that it’s important for me to differentiate the two. [...] And I didn’t want to insult the fans by trying to make another Jigsaw because there’s only one Tobin Bell, and no one can hold a candle to what he brought into that character. So for me, I wanted to go a completely different way. I wanted the killer to be so different from Jigsaw that there would be no comparison to that. They are different people. So when you start going down that road, you have to change out kind of everything. Because if you’re trading out Jigsaw, you’ve got to change out the doll as well.”
Bousman went on to say that the new killer is "reforming an institution" by elevating the ideas of Jigsaw. Given that the new puppet is a pig in a police uniform, the institution referred to is likely police. With the Jigsaw Killer's ultimate goal of having his victims survive their ordeal to find a new appreciation for life, it will be interesting to see how these ideas can be applied directly to modern-day law enforcement. Our current political climate could easily feed into a story, even with the fact that the film was completed and ready for release a year ago before it was delayed due to the COVID pandemic.
The original Saw film debuted in 2004 and it became a huge success while helping to usher in the term "torture porn," which refers to horror films that have brutal violence and torture as major plot points. It was directed by James Wan from a script by Leigh Whannell. However, the later sequels saw the franchise fizzle out at the box office. With Spiral, the studio looks to be bringing in new blood to breathe life back into the franchise with the likes of Rock and Jackson. Spiral: From the Book of Saw hits theaters on May 14, with fans excited to see what it has in store for the world of Saw.
Source: RadioTimes