Chris Rock's Saw reboot came about by chance

14 January 2020

Chris Rock's 'Saw' reboot came from a chance meeting with the head of Lionsgate.

Chris Rock

Chris has written and will star in 'The Organ Donor', the ninth instalment of the horror franchise, but despite taking on the iconic series he has confessed he isn't exactly an expert of the genre and his involvement with 'Saw' came about by accident when he was introduced to Lionsgate Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer at a wedding.

Speaking to website Collider, the 'Dolemite Is My Name' star said: "I was at a friend's wedding, and they introduced me to the head of Lionsgate. I was like, 'Lionsgate'? Oh, 'Saw'.' And they called me up. I was just poking fun at the Lionsgate about 'Saw'."

The 54-year-old stand-up comic insists that his addition to the 'Saw' universe, which will also star Samuel L. Jackson and Marisol Nichols, will include elements of comedy as well as horror.

Chris said: "There are so many movies that I've watched and gone, 'Three jokes would have made that movie a lot better.' You know what I mean? A lot of times, you can get comedy in things, if it's grounded, without it changing the movie, per se. Just like that story that 'Beverley Hills Cop' was written for Sylvester Stallone. Eddie Murphy was hired at the last minute, and they made kind of the same movie, but it was grounded with just a little here, here and here. So, 'Saw' is really scary and really bloody. It's a 'Saw' movie. But every now and then, you take a little air out. It's gonna be good."

The first 'Saw' movie was created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell in 2004 and was a huge box office success spawning equally successful sequels.

The series follows psychopathic serial killer John Kramer, also called the 'Jigsaw Killer' or 'Jigsaw' who traps his victims in horrifically perilous situations that he calls "games" to test their will to live through physical and psychological torment in a bid to rehabilitate them for their perceived sins.

Darren Lynn Bousman - who directed 'Saw II', 'Saw III' and 'Saw IV' - is helming 'The Organ Donor' which is slated for release in May 2020.