Is Spiral a prequel to Saw?

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Spiral: From the Book of Saw.

More than most other horror franchises, the Saw series is famous for its intricate and complex timeline, and here's where Spiral falls into things. When it comes to maintaining continuity between installments, horror is perhaps the genre that seems to care the least. For instance, several A Nightmare on Elm Street films are completely disconnected from the prior entry, Jason Goes to Hell doesn't bother to explain how Mr. Voorhees became an adult again and got back to Crystal Lake from Manhattan, and a Halloween timeline guide is necessary to understand that series.

Amidst that sea of confusing horror franchise continuities, Saw has always stood tall, as a beacon of keeping each and every entry tied together. Sure, doing that has strained credibility several times, but at least each movie matters to the series, and none are disposable. Even part 8, simply titled Jigsaw, managed to loop back into the John Kramer mythos, even though he's been dead since Saw 3.

Going into Spiral: From the Book of Saw, many fans wondered how, if at all, Chris Rock's reboot would fit into the existing Saw timeline. Would it be a full-on renewal, or slot neatly into Jigsaw's prior games? It turns out that the answer itself is a bit complex, but not overly so.

Is Spiral A Saw Sequel, Prequel Or Reboot

He added: “The Saw films have become very dense, very mythology heavy. They’re so interconnected and interwoven that if you miss one of them, you’re kind of thrown out because of all the flashbacks and flashforwards. This movie kind of resets everything.

“It is much more comedic than previous films in the way that it’s not a comedy by any sense of the word, because it’s dark, it’s depressing, there’s violence galore. But we allow there to be a little levity, which we never had before in any Saw film.”

Marisol Nichols, who plays Captain Angie Garza, went on to explain how Spiral evolves the franchise, saying: “The Saw universe is famous for specifics like traps and Jigsaw and all of that amazing fun stuff. This is sort of the next chapter in that universe.

“So its evolved into this thing where Chris Rock put his own stamp on it and creativity on it, and Sam Jackson came to play, and Max Minghella came to play. It’s a really fun, interesting and dark take on the Saw universe. But a new chapter in itself.”

Minghella also praised the “merging” of Rock’s talent and the Saw universe and the detective feel of the film, while Nichols described Spiral as a “suspenseful thriller” as she compared it to David Fincher’s Se7en.

“It’s a whodunnit, who killed. We’re still in that Saw universe, we pay homage to it. You’ve still got the Saw traps and all that fun stuff. But Chris is sprinkling in a humour and a lightness and a great soundtrack and a really great cast. It’s really fun to see this new chapter, and whether you’re a Saw fan or not, you’re gonna like this movie.”

Is Spiral connected to Saw?

Is Spiral before or after Saw?

Is Spiral Canon to Saw?

Is Jigsaw mentioned in Spiral?