Saw X promises to “cut through time” and fans have some wild theories

The new, blood-dripping poster for Saw X has a curious tagline: “The tenth chapter cuts through time” – and fans have some whacky ideas for what that may mean.

As the Saw franchise progressed, each movie somehow became more elaborate and messy at the same time; the traps got nastier and more Rube Goldbergian, but the plot became borderline-incomprehensible – we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the end of the so-called Final Chapter.

However, after two lackluster spinoffs – Jigsaw and Spiral – the franchise is finally returning to its roots and playing a game we can all get on board with.

Saw X isn’t just bringing back Tobin Bell’s iconic, vengeful serial killer, but fans can look forward to seeing Shawnee Smith’s Amanda and possibly even Costas Mandylor’s Hoffman – is that all “cutting through time” means, or is there more?

Saw X will “cut through time” – but what does that mean?

The newest poster for Saw X integrates the traps of the franchise into a Mayan calendar; look closely and you’ll see the reverse bear trap, the razor box, and the buckets from Jigsaw. Billy the Puppet’s face is in the middle, with blood dripping out of his mouth.

Atop the structure, there’s a new tagline: “The tenth chapter cuts through time.” Could this be an allusion to the movie’s placement in the timeline (between Saw and Saw II), with the possibility of further flashbacks/forwards, or is it hinting at something crazier?

“No way we’re getting a time travel Saw movie,” one user wrote. “Never watched a Saw movie but if they introduced time travel into the universe I might just need to get into it,” another joked. “I really hope this means SAW said screw it and added time travel,” a third wrote.

“The wheel’s inspired by the Aztec calendar, a universal indicator of time, it has hidden references to past and future saw traps (even some that happened after Kramer’s death), the TAGLINE I was just joking but I don’t think it’s a joke anymore, we’re gonna travel through time,” a fourth tweeted.

In fairness, if John Kramer has always had the ability to travel through time, then those flashbacks of him seemingly younger with a backwards baseball cap suddenly make sense. However, another fan had a more realistic prediction: “With the tagline for Saw X being ‘the tenth chapter cuts through time’ I think they’re definitely going to retcon some of the sequels.”

“What if it turns into a revised history ending and John gets a happy ending at the end and turns out they did manage to get rid of the cancer,” another user speculated.

Saw X hits cinemas on September 29, 2023. Find out more about the movie here.