'Spiral: From The Book Of Saw' Trailer: Chris Rock Reboots The 'Saw' Franchise

The Saw series is back, with a fresh start. Chris Rock stars in (and came up with the story for) Spiral: From the Book of Saw, a new entry in the franchise with a considerably clunky title. The first Spiral trailer is now here, and it takes its time before revealing it's a Saw film. For the first few moments, you might think this is a new cop thriller starring Chris Rock. And then...things spiral out of control (see what I did there?).

While I'm a big horror fan, I was never entirely into the Saw franchise. I think the first film is a well-made little horror-thriller, and while I appreciate the extreme lengths the sequels went to in order to forge a crazy continuity, the torture-porn wore me down. All that said, I'm mighty curious about Spiral: From the Book of Saw (although woof, that title). The idea of Chris Rock rebooting the Saw franchise is just so...odd. Rock has insisted that this movie is not going to be a comedy, and this trailer seems to confirm that. While there are a few jokey moments at the start between Rock's cop character and his partner, played by Max Minghella, things get serious real fast. And oh yeah, Samuel L. Jackson shows up, too.

How does Jigsaw fit into all of this? No idea! Maybe he doesn't at all – maybe this is a brand-new game. After all, Jigsaw is technically dead, although that hasn't stopped the character from coming back in numerous sequels before.

Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed several of the original Saw films, is back for this entry as well, with a script by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, the duo who wrote the most recent entry Jigsaw. The story, though, comes straight from Rock.

"When Chris Rock came to us and described in chilling detail his fantastic vision that reimagines and spins off the world of the notorious Jigsaw Killer, we were all-in," said Joe Drake, chairman of Lionsgate's Motion Picture Group."Saw is one of the highest-grossing horror franchises of all time and it's one of Lionsgate's most successful film series. This upcoming film will still be as mind-bending and intense as all the previous Saw films. Chris conceived this idea and it will be completely reverential to the legacy of the material while reinvigorating the brand with his wit, creative vision and passion for this classic horror franchise."

Spiral: From the Book of Saw opens May 15, 2020.