Tobin Bell owns a metal briefcase that he uses to house nine composition books, each one containing the notes he took to prepare to play John Kramer, a.k.a. Jigsaw, in the movies that make up the Saw franchise. (There have been ten movies in the series, but Bell missed out on the side story Spiral: From the Book of Saw). Soon, he’ll start taking notes in a tenth book, because Saw XI is on track for a September 26, 2025 release – and he has confirmed to the LA Times that Kramer is “a main part” of the latest sequel.

The LA Times reports that the first page of the notes Bell took for the original Saw “includes a drawn spiral interrogating the likes, dislikes and motivations” of his character. The other pages “are occupied by a series of questions about the character. They start with the most basic details — ‘Where am I?’ for example — and evolve into increasingly specific queries until they form an inverse triangle brimming with insight he’s deciphered on his own.” Bell learned this method of breaking down his characters from Ellen Burstyn back in the 1970s.

Bell explains, “Each film is a different story and John’s in a different place. Same guy but different circumstances. … By the time I get to actually rolling the camera I’m up to 128 answers. You never know everything, but hopefully I know enough so I don’t go mad trying to play someone I don’t know at all.” Bell knows John Kramer well enough by now that he makes screenplay and dialogue suggestions on each film. He doesn’t condone his character’s actions, but understands where he’s coming from. “John feels that the world has been taken over by mediocre people. He believes we all have to deal with the consequences of what we create. And that these people are not appreciative of what they have.“

Saw X was one of the most well-received entries in the franchise, and Bell hopes Saw XI will be able to continue elevating the quality of the series. “It’s all in the writing. … I’m really excited about continuing to develop him. John Kramer is not done. There’s more to learn.“

Saw X director Kevin Greutert will be back at the helm for Saw XI. Greutert edited the first five Saw movies, and did the same on Jigsaw. He made his feature directorial debut with Saw VI and signed on to direct Paranormal Activity 2 after that. That movie was scheduled to be released on the same day as the seventh Saw movie, Saw 3D – so Lionsgate decided to remove Saw V director David Hackl from Saw 3D and replace him with Greutert, stealing him away from Paramount and Paranormal Activity 2. The Paranormal sequel ended up being directed by Tod Williams and was released the week before Saw 3D. Between Saw 3D and Saw X, Greutert directed the genre films Jessabelle, Visions, and Jackals. For Saw XI, Greutert will be working from a screenplay by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, who previously wrote Saw parts 4 through 7 (with Thomas Fenton also getting a story credit on Saw IV).

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