‘Spiral’ aka ‘Saw 9’ Pushed to 2021, Plus (Possible) Breaking News

Spiral director Darren Lynn Bousman revealed Friday via Instagram that the release date for the next Saw film has officially been changed to May 21, 2021. You may recall that this ninth installment, which is based on a story by Chris Rock, was originally set to hit theaters on October 23, 2020. It was afterwards announced that the film would receive an earlier release on May 15, 2020, likely to avoid competition with the October 16th theatrical debut of Halloween Kills.

However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the release date for Spiral has changed once again. This time, the sequel was delayed a full year out of an abundance of caution concerning the virus (and perhaps to again steer clear of a certain masked slasher). A good deal of 2020 movies are unfortunately suffering the same fate, so we are just going to have to be patient and remain confident that the end result will be worth the wait.

There is an interesting development, though, which may shed a bit of light on how Spiral fits into the Saw universe. If you are unfamiliar with the series, please proceed with caution in order to avoid any possible spoilers.

First, here is the official statement regarding the delayed release date:

Now, for some potentially big news. To date, there has not been any real clarification as to how exactly Spiral will secure its place within the Saw franchise. Early on, the film was described as a reboot, but this was quickly shot down by screenwriter Josh Stolberg who went on to state that the new entry would take place within the same timeline as its predecessors. However, the new movie does not appear to be a direct sequel to 2017’s Jigsaw, and has been tagged as both a Saw “spinoff” and also as a “re-imagining”.

Well, as of this writing the IMDb cast listing for Spiral shows none other than Costas Mandylor returning as “Mark Hoffman”.

Now what does this mean? Could be nothing, as inaccurate information does occasionally show up on IMDb. But let’s assume for the moment that it’s true, since the film has been completed for some time now. Remember, Hoffman’s fate at the conclusion of Saw 3D is not entirely clear. Is it possible that he survived? Also keep in mind that the Saw series is famous for incorporating flashback scenes in order to weave together a continuous story. Perhaps the inclusion of Hoffman will simply serve to loosely connect the events of Spiral to the earlier films with the use of flashbacks. We’ll just have to wait and see, albeit for quite a bit longer. In the meantime, here’s another look at the official Spiral teaser trailer:

Synopsis: “A sadistic mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in SPIRAL, the terrifying new chapter from the book of SAW. Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past.  Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.”