TV & Movies

Saw X producers explain why it’s the longest movie in the franchise

Daisy Phillipson
Tobin Bell as John Kramer in Saw XLionsgate

Saw X is the longest movie in the franchise, and there’s a good reason for this, according to long-running Saw producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules.

Spanning nearly 20 years, the Saw franchise has seen the release of nine movies, soon to be ten with the arrival of Saw X later this week, which brings us back in time to focus on the iconic John Kramer and his accomplice Amanda Young. 

Up until this point, each film has clocked in at around the 90-minute mark, with the longest being the first entry Saw at one hour and 40 minutes. However, Saw X is set to break a new record with its one hour and 58 minute runtime. 

Ahead of its release, Dexerto caught up with producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules, who have been with the franchise since the start, and they revealed why the tenth entry is so much longer than its predecessors. 

Why Saw X is the longest movie in the franchise

The reason why Saw X is “around half an hour longer” than the others is because viewers are set to see a whole other side of Kramer, but there also needed to be enough time for audiences to care about the other characters. 

Burg told us that the movie is going back to the less complicated traps of the earlier films. “Not everybody in this movie dies in the traps,” he explains. “There are people who survive, they do what they have to do, they beat the trap, and they live.”

This was something the creators made a “conscientious” point of doing, with Burg adding: “It shows John’s humanity and John cares about the people and those who have survived the traps, and he wants them to live and live a better life.

“He’s way more empathetic; you care about him. This movie’s probably half an hour longer than any other Saw movie, and we needed the time to care not only about John, but to care about all the other actors in the movie.”

Alongside Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith, who are returning as Kramer and Young respectively, the Saw X cast includes Synnøve Macody Lund as Cecilia Pederson, Steven Brand as Parker Sears, and Michael Beach as Henry Kessler.

Michael Beach, Renata Vaca, Paulette Hernandez, Paulette Hernandez, Octavio Hinojosa, and Joshua Okamoto also star in the respective roles of Henry Kessler, Gabriela, Valentina, Mateo, and Diego. 

As for who’s behind the camera, Kevin Greutert is in the director’s seat, having helmed Saw 6 and 7 in the past. 

Saw X drops in theaters on September 29. You can find more of our Saw coverage below:

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