10 Directors Who Bailed On Their Own Movie Franchises (But Should Have Stuck Around)

6. Darren Lynn Bousman - Saw

The Saw franchise began as the brainchild of director James Wan (written by him and Leigh Whannell, who also played Adam in the first film), but the franchise's most prolific director is Darren Lynn Bousman, who came aboard after his own spec script was essentially turned into the plot for Saw II.

He subsequently directed the solid Saw III and the not so solid Saw IV before bailing from the series, after which it began to flatline all the way to its final entry.

Bousman may not be the most stunningly gifted director out there, but he has a knack for this sort of thing, as evidenced by his work on the second and third films. The fifth film was handed to second unit director David Hackl, and the sixth and seventh films were directed by the series' editor, Kevin Greutert; it's as though they let anyone make these movies by the end. With Bousman at the helm, there's no doubt that they would have been far more cohesive films, as when directing from Whannell's scripts, it was a sure recipe for success.