Demon FM and ShockTillYouDrop are reporting that production on the latest Saw film, Saw VII, has now begun. Interestingly, it is Kevin Greutert at the helm too, the same director who left the Saw franchise to make Paranormal Activity 2 for Paramount, who Lionsgate exercised an option on to basically force him to make Saw 7 for it.

Last we heard, Greutert - as we reported here - was talking to lawyers, but we're guessing those talks didn't go quite to plan. It's odd, this: Lionsgate has a director making a film that it seems very clear he doesn't want to make at all. It's going to make for very interesting press junkets towards the end of the year, that much is for certain.

The word coming out of the Saw VII production, however, is that this is going to mark the last cinematic outing for the franchise. Co-writer Patrick Melton told Demon FM, "I think it's going to end with Saw VII."

Melton continues: "That's something we're debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn't performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it's going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don't own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it's going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame."

Saw 7 3D Endgame it is, then. We should say that, even if Saw VII does mark the end of, let's be blunt here, one of the more unpleasant movie franchises to date, then it's a dead-cert for a reboot a few years down the line.

Just because Saw VII might mark the end of the current run of films, that doesn't mean that it's game over for the franchise at all. And if Saw VII does go off and make a bucketload of cash, then Lionsgate wouldn't be able to get the cameras back out again quickly enough.

Incidentally, Lionsgate does seem to have temporarily scuppered Paramount's Paranormal Activity 2, which, to our knowledge, still doesn't have a director attached. If the studio is to get the film in cinemas for October, which is the current plan, then it'd better get its skates on...

Demon FM
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