Saw Star Says John Kramer Has a “Lot of Unanswered Questions” if Franchise Expands

Spiral: From the Book of Saw hit theaters last month, officially expanding the world of the Saw franchise outside of the John Kramer mythology, with longtime star Tobin Bell recently teasing that, however the franchise might expand in the future with spinoffs or prequels, his character’s history has a lot of “unanswered questions.” Bell last appeared in the franchise with 2017’s Jigsaw, and has since claimed he is entirely open to a new performer taking over the role, while also not ruling out reprising the character at some point in the future, depending on the story. Bell can next be seen in Let Us In, which hits VOD and Digital HD on July 2nd.

“All I can say to that is John Kramer, in my view, is huge. He is a King Lear-sized guy, and there’s all of these questions about him that remain unanswered that would be a whole lot of fun to answer,” Bell recently explained to ComicBook.com about what he’d like to see in the franchise’s future. “And one of the things I’ve tried to do with that is to always bring some depth, philosophically whatever, whether it has to do with appreciating your life. Because the fans don’t talk a lot when I meet them about the traps, or about the twists. They talk about the concepts in the films. They say, ‘I watched that film at a point in time where I really needed to realize to stop feeling sorry for myself and be grateful for how incredibly lucky I am. And so, I’ve been working on that and thank you.’ That sort of thing.”

He added, “I feel like the concepts in the film, and now obviously it’s a horror film, and the fans love the scares and the traps and all of that, but they also love some of the threads that run through the films. And those threads resonate with them.”

While the series might be more known for its traps and gruesome sequences, Bell recalled how even younger fans have connected with the themes of mortality.

“I had eight or nine kids on skateboards come to me and say, ‘You’re the guy. Right?’ And I say, ‘Yeah,’” the actor detailed. “And they say, ‘I love those films.’ I say, ‘Oh, yeah? What do you love about them?’ And they said, ‘They teach us stuff.’ I said, ‘Like what?’ And they said, ‘Well, when you said to that guy, “If you knew the exact moment of your own death, how would that change how you live your life?”‘ And these are 12-year-olds, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m glad you told me that,’ because that’s why I do them, to try to find the places within the films, where more is revealed about what’s going on through John’s head.”

In Let Us In, a spirited twelve-year-old girl and her best friend start investigating the sudden disappearances of several missing teens in their small town. Realizing there might be something deeper happening, Emily and Christopher might be up against forces they can’t even imagine.

Let Us In hits VOD and Digital HD on July 2nd. Stay tuned for details on the future of the Saw franchise.

How would you like to see Saw expand? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!