Chris Rock Explains Why He Wanted to Tackle the New Saw Movie

The news of the Saw franchise coming back once again may sound exciting to many, as the horror series wore out its welcome quite a long time ago and continuously failed to deliver anything fresh after its first movie or two. However, this upcoming reboot of the Saw films boasts the potential to break its own mold and completely revitalize the franchise. Comedian Chris Rock will star in the new Saw later this year, based on a totally original idea that he came up with and pitched to Lionsgate. That kind of strange partnership is one that is sure to grab the attention of horror fans, and it was the concept of something so different that piqued Rock’s curiosity in the first place.

Rock recently spoke with Collider about his new Saw film, which will be directed by Saw II, III, and IV helmer Darren Lynn Bousman, and he was asked the question on everyone’s mind. Why take on Saw?

“You wanna be interested in what you’re doing. I was like, ‘Fargo? That sounds great. That’s an adventure I haven’t been on. I’ve never done a television show before. Okay.’ And then, ‘A horror movie? I’ve never done that.’ Even without art, just in life, you wanna travel and see new things, you wanna meet new people, you wanna try new foods.”

Rock also saw an opportunity to inject some humor into the Saw franchise. Not that he’s turning the gruesome film series into a comedy, but he went on to explain that a little bit of levity here and there can really elevate any project, regardless of the genre.

“There are so many movies that I’ve watched and gone, ‘Three jokes would have made that movie a lot better.’ You know what I mean? A lot of times, you can get comedy in things, if it’s grounded, without it changing the movie, per se. Just like that story that Beverly Hills Cop was written for Sylvester Stallone. Eddie Murphy was hired at the last minute, and they made kind of the same movie, but it was grounded with just a little here, here and here. So, Saw is really scary and really bloody. It’s a Saw movie. But every now and then, you take a little air out. It’s gonna be good.”

This Saw reboot certainly has the potential to be unlike anything we’ve seen from the series to date, and it will be a total genre departure for Rock, who is already set up to have a phenomenal year. Let’s hope the final product can live up to the hype.

The new Saw is currently slated to hit theaters on May 15th.