The SAW Franchise loves to play with time and chronology and has done so ever since the first movie. Many of the films heavily feature flashbacks, flashforwards, and plotlines taking place at different times, used by both the filmmakers and the Jigsaw killers to trick the test subjects and the audience into thinking the movie is simple when it’s not.
But when does SAW X take place?
A New Sequel
SAW X is a new kind of sequel to SAW. While John Kramer AKA Jigsaw has been dead since the end of the 3rd film, many of the SAW films work around this by heavily featuring flashbacks and making the main antagonists the many apprentices or copycats of Jigsaw.
SAW X, however, breaks that mold by being a sequel that takes place weeks after the original SAW (2004), meaning John Kramer is alive, if not well.
This appears to be a hybrid form of the “requel” / “legacy sequel” formula that has risen to prominence recently. Like many requels, SAW X appears to be an attempt to restart the franchise for those who don’t want to watch all the previous 9 films to understand what is going on. That being said, while it arguably functions as a new SAW II, it also spoils that movie by making Amanda Young Jigsaw’s main apprentice of the movie, with very few hints that any of Jigsaw’s other apprentices will be making appearances.
What is the timeline now?
As previously stated, the SAW franchise loves to play with chronology, and as a result, many of the films have flashbacks that skip around in time. With SAW X added to the mix, the new timeline appears to be as follows: SAW, SAW X, SAW II, SAW III and SAW IV (take place simultaneously), SAW V, SAW VI, SAW VII, JIGSAW (police plotline, the main trap plotline actually takes place before SAW), and SPIRAL: From the Book of SAW.
SAW X is also the longest movie in the franchise, meaning there are probably going to be even more flashbacks or plotlines that mess with the audience’s perception of time.
(Feature Image: Lionsgate)
