‘Saw X’ Ends With a Killer Cameo That Sets up Future Installments

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Saw X.

Jigsaws, unite!

For Saw X, the horror franchise brought back the ultimate OG in Tobin Bell's John Kramer, a.k.a. the first Jigsaw killer. Also along for the ride was Shawnee Smith's Amanda Young, who became Kramer's fan-favorite mentee after briefly debuting in 2004's Saw as a victim. But that wasn't the only Jigsaw reunion in Saw X.

Set between the events of Saw and Saw II, the 10th installment finds John seeking revenge on a group of Mexico City-based con artists who tricked him into thinking they had a medical solution for his brain cancer. Like always, everything goes according to plan for the sadistic gamemaster, and he, Amanda, and a young boy named Carlos literally walk off into the Mexican sunrise. Except there was one last person that needed to pay!

In Saw X's mid-credits scene, John returns to the famous torture bathroom from Saw, where, hanging from a trap, is Henry Kessler (Michael Beach), who, early in the film, posed as a cancer patient to convince John to take part in the fake treatment. But the real surprise is John's partner-in-crime, Det. Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor).

"Out of all the men to cheat, you picked John Kramer?" Hoffman says to Kessler. "I call that epic bad luck." When Kessler begs to be spared, John declares, "I want to play a game."

Det. Hoffman's debut in the franchise came in 2006's Saw III, the same film in which Kramer is killed off. The character became more prominent over the next four films, eventually becoming a Jigsaw disciple and replacement. He was last seen in 2010's Saw 3D, being left in that very same Saw bathroom by former victim-turned-Jigsasw apprentice Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes).

"We really wanted to give the fans a little bit of a nugget, knowing how early on Det. Hoffman was in John Kramer's life," producer Oren Koules tells The Messenger, with fellow producer Mark Burg adding, "We didn't know where to put [the scene], and we knew we had to pay off Michael Beach, and so it just made sense to put it where it was."

And while the creative team insists that they take it one film at a time, they can't help but have an eye on what the Saw X ending could mean for the future — and past.

"We decided to bring it all back to the Saw bathroom, which we recreated in Mexico City," Burg says. "By the way, it's the only set we left standing there, so we have the bathroom set in a warehouse in Mexico. So, should there be another Saw movie, plan on seeing it.... Because this movie has gotten such a buzz about it pre-opening, a bunch of actors that have been in previous Saw movies have reached out saying, 'Hey, I was alive back then in the Saw franchise — I'd love to come back.'"

Wow, so, Saw 11: All-Stars?

Perking up at the title suggestion, Burg responds, "You don't mind if we use that, do you?"

Saw X is in theaters now.