Actor Tobin Bell has not seen Spiral: From the Book of Saw yet. When Saw was released in 2004, it made a big splash right out of its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film went on to influence an entire generation of horror along with eight more sequels in the horror franchise.
Bell starred as the villain, Jigsaw/John Kramer, who is now one of the most iconic characters in the horror genre.
The most recent entry in the Saw franchise, Spiral, was originally supposed to be released in May 2020, although the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in it being pushed to May 2021.
The film’s concept came from Chris Rock, who also ended up starring in the lead role as Detective Zeke Banks. Even though Bell’s Jigsaw is dead, a copycat mastermind is on the streets and the new killer is targeting corrupt law enforcement to put into deadly traps.
In a recent interview with ComingSoon.net, Bell was asked about the most recent addition to the Saw franchise.
While he has not seen Spiral, he has admiration for Rock.
He went on to recognize the fandom’s passion for the series, although he made no indication that he is still involved with any aspect of the series.
See below for Bell’s comments about the new film:
“I have not seen Spiral, but I know I know what a talented and imaginative guy that Chris Rock is. So I can’t imagine that it doesn’t open a sort of a window into another kind of window. My understanding is it’s not really a Saw film, it’s kind of in the Saw universe. Having not seen it, I can’t really comment on it, except that anything that keeps Saw in the minds of people, and God knows the fans out there are incredibly dedicated to that franchise, will only focus attention on it. So Spiral is in the rearview now and we’ll see what happens moving forward.”
While Bell is currently promoting his most recent film, A Father’s Legacy, his performance as Jigsaw will continue to stand the test of time.
The Saw franchise may not continue with Kramer, but it certainly has not abandoned the influence of his character.
Perhaps Bell will decide to check out Spiral one day and fans will know what the Jigsaw actor himself thinks of the most recent expansion of the world of Saw.
At this point, Bell is one of many people who did not see Spiral.
At the time of writing, it has made over $22 million domestically and $13 million internationally for a global intake of $36 million worldwide on a reported $20 million budget.
Compared to earlier entries of the franchise, Spiral performed rather poorly.
On opening weekend, it brought in $8 million domestically, compared to the previous entry, Jigsaw, which brought in $16 million.
However, its release being so soon after theaters opened again should be taken into account.
What is more impressive is how Spiral pushed the franchise past the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
There is potential for more films in the series, regardless of whether it goes under the brand of Saw or Spiral.
Having been dead for many sequels, Jigsaw will continue to only exist in flashbacks or by mention, although this allows for a new generation to take on his brutal rehabilitation techniques for their own uses.
SR
