With Jigsaw’s return proving to be a massive success for the franchise, Oren Koules offers a disappointing update on the chances of Spiral 2. The 2021 movie served as a spinoff of the iconic horror franchise, starring Chris Rock as a detective investigating a string of deaths seemingly connected to the Jigsaw Killer. Spiral, which was based on a story concept from Rock, was only a modest success, grossing just over $40 million against its $20 million budget while garnering mixed reviews from critics.
While speaking with GamesRadar‘s SFX Magazine for Saw X and the in-development Saw 11, Koules was asked about the chances of a Spiral 2. The franchise producer indicated that while a sequel is possible to the Rock-led spinoff, any such development will remain on the backburner as they focus on Jigsaw-fronted stories thanks to the success of the 2023 sequel. See what Koules said below:
Maybe one day we’ll come back to doing a sequel. Chris Rock would love to do one, but our focus, because of the success and the response to Saw X, is Saw 11.
Does Spiral 2 Need To Happen?
Though it could be seen as too much of a safe bet for the property, Koules and his team’s decision to focus solely on developing Saw 11 makes sense. The recently released Saw X was not only the highest-grossing sequel since 2010’s The Final Chapter, but also broke the franchise’s record for becoming the first to score a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even more impressive was that these positive reviews were high enough to score the Certified Fresh rating on the review aggregate, currently sitting at an 80% approval rating from critics, while also landing the highest Audience score at 89%.
In addition to the recent movie’s success, the other hurdle for a potential Spiral 2 is its own performance. While not the worst-reviewed movie in the franchise, its socially conscious story failed to fully break the franchise free from its predictable formula, ultimately netting it a Rotten 37% approval rating from critics. Though audiences were more favorable with a 75% rating, this didn’t translate to much at the box office, as Spiral became the lowest-grossing installment to date. Part of this was attributed to the spinoff hitting theaters as they struggled to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, though the negative reviews were also deemed a factor in its lackluster performance.
While its critical and commercial underperformance may have deterred Koules and Twisted Pictures from developing Spiral 2 for the time being, there is still room for it to happen. The first Spiral ended on a major cliffhanger for Rock‘s Zeke and the new killer, Max Minghella‘s William Emmerson, who successfully escaped after his final trap was set to kill Samuel L. Jackson‘s Marcus. Whether this results in a heated search from Zeke akin to that of Scott Patterson‘s Agent Strahm, or the actual Jigsaw apprentices looking to learn more about the killer appropriating their ideals and methods, the door is open for more stories to tell with the Spiral characters should the producers decide to return to them.