Saw is a
horror franchise distributed by
Lions Gate Entertainment and produced by
Twisted Pictures that consists of seven feature films and additional media. In 2003,
Australian director
James Wan and screenwriter
Leigh Whannell created a
short film to help
pitch as a potential
feature film. This was successfully done in 2004 with the release of
the first installment at the
Sundance Film Festival. It was released theatrically that October. The sequels were directed by
Darren Lynn Bousman,
David Hackl, and
Kevin Greutert, and were written by Wan, Whannell, Bousman,
Patrick Melton, and
Marcus Dunstan, and were released subsequently every October, on the Friday before
Halloween, between 2004 and 2010. Both of the creators remained with the franchise as
executive producers. On July 22, 2010, producer
Mark Burg confirmed that the seventh film,
Saw 3D, is the final installment of the series. Series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell are still open to continuing the series, however, if they can do something "different" with the material. The films collectively grossed over
$873 million at the box office worldwide. Lionsgate reportedly expressed interest in continuing the franchise in 2012 with a reboot. However, in November 2013, it was reported that they were in active development of a sequel.