Subscribe
Cassius Life Featured Video
CLOSE
Chris Rock Total Black Out Tour - Boston, MA

Source: Paul Marotta / Getty

Chris Rock is the latest comedian looking to give a new perspective on horror as he’ll be executive producing and co-writing a script for a new Saw movie.

The actor and Def Jam Comedy alum will be teaming up with Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures for a Saw film with a release date scheduled for October 23, 2020. “I’ve been a fan of Saw since the first film in 2004,” Rock tells Deadline. “I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place.”

Rock wrote the screenplay for the film, which will then be adapted by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg. Rock will executive produce the film with Lionsgate. Joe Drake, Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group chairman, was ecstatic about the news for another Saw installment.

“When Chris Rock came to us and described in chilling detail his fantastic vision that reimagines and spins off the world of the notorious Jigsaw Killer, we were all-in,” Drake said. “Saw is one of the highest-grossing horror franchises of all-time, and it’s one of Lionsgate’s most successful film series. This upcoming film will still be as mind-bending and intense as all the previous Saw films.”

There appears to be a trend of comedic minds using their ideas in a darker fashion. Current horror titan Jordan Peele has directed two of the highest grossing films in the genre, 2017‘s Get Out and 2019’s Us, carving a new lane for directors of color in the genre. Rock looks to be the next name to try his hand with fear with a fresh twist to it.

“Chris wants to put his own spin on the Saw franchise in the way Eddie Murphy put a completely fresh perspective on buddy-cop films with 48 Hours,” longtime series producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules tells Deadline. “This new Saw is going to be an event film in the making for horror fans. It will have all of the twists and turns and hardcore layers that our fans expect directed by one of the masters of the craft, Darren Lynn Bousman. We can’t wait to get started.”