Honestely, you'd think this whole story was an April fool if it wasn't July. Following on from the odd news that Chris Rock had an idea for and was getting involved with the Saw horror franchise, studio Lionsgate has now released some casting details. Rock, it turns out, will be appearing in front of the camera as well as steering the story. And he'll be joined by Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols.
Rock will play a cop on the trail of a serial killer responsible for a string of gnarly deaths. Minghella is his partner, Nichols their captain, and Jackson is playing Rock's father. There's no mention yet of Tobin Bell, the franchise's fiendish "Jigsaw" killer, but his involvement in the last one, 2017's attempted reboot Jigsaw, was kept largely under wraps until the eleventh hour too.
“I’ve been a fan of Saw since the first film in 2004,” Rock said of the horror saga originated by James Wan. “I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place.”
“We think Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock along with Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols make this film completely special in the Saw canon," says Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake, "and we can’t wait to unleash this unexpected and sinister new story on fans of this franchise. This is next level of Saw on full tilt.”
Rock’s Saw will be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who previously made _Saw_s 2, 3, and 4. It's currently pencilled in for an October 2020 release.