‘Spiral’ Star Chris Rock Reveals Which ‘Saw’ Movie Inspired Him to Join Horror Franchise

Chris Rock surprised fans with his role in Spiral, the newest entry into the Saw movie series and now the comedian is revealing which of the franchise’s films inspired him to want to join. Lionsgate recently released Spiral for home entertainment through 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and DVD, with all formats containing a number of exciting behind-the-scenes featurettes. In one of the special feature segments, Rock shares it was actually Saw II that made him want to jump into the thrilling horror series.

“I was watching Saw, the second one with Donnie Wahlberg, and I was like, ‘I could be really funny in that part,’ and not change the movie at all. You know what I mean? Not fundamentally change the movie, but add something in it,” Rock says, adding how he thought Wahlberg “was great” in the movie. Notably, Spiral does have much more humor injected into it than other Saw films, which director Darren Lynn Bousman notes was very much intentional thanks to Rock’s long-proven skills and talent. “This is the first Saw movie with laughs, I would say, or jokes in it, but it’s not a comedy. It’s not funny,” Bousman says in the featurette.

Created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the horror franchise debuted in 2004 with Saw. It followed two men who find themselves impending victims of the Jigsaw serial killer, who doesn’t murder his victims in traditional ways, but rather crafts devices that cause the victim to be in control of whether or not they die. Both men wrote the story while Whannell wrote the screenplay and Wan directed the film. Whannell starred in the film as well, appearing opposite Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, and Tobin Bell.

Saw was a hit with horror fans, making it very successful. The film earned more than $100 million at the global box office on a budget of just over $1 million. For the next six years, a new Saw film was released in theaters every October, with Saw 7: The Final Chapter debuting in 2010. Years later, Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate brought the franchise back with Jigsaw, the eighth film in the series. It starred Matt Passmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Clé Bennett, and Hannah Emily Anderson.

In May, Spiral: From the Book of Saw was released, carrying the franchise past the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office revenue. Speaking about the film to Collider, Rock previously shared that it would be just as intense as the past Saw films, but that it will also use some infrequent humor to cut the tension at times. “So, [Spiral] 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.”

Finally, it was recently reported that a tenth Saw film is “actively in development,” and is rumored to be titled Saw X. Horror news outlet Bloody Disgusting pointed to a Production Weekly listing that referred to the film and noted it was being produced by Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate, as well as Wan’s Atomic Monster production company. Bousman has since somewhat squashed the rumors, saying that the Saw franchise is still very much alive, but no concrete plans currently exist for its future.

Spiral is now available to buy on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and DVD. For more on the horror movie franchise and all your favorite stars and entertainment news, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest.

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