10 Movie Franchises That Made The Same Mistake TWICE
1. Introducing Random Secret Apprentices - Saw
The first time the Saw franchise revealed a secret apprentice for John Kramer aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) - with Saw 2's Amanda (Shawnee Smith) being appointed as his successor - it was a neat and genuinely surprising twist.
But in the interest of keeping the franchise limping along, it's one which the filmmakers relied upon all too much in the sequels that followed.
Saw IV revealed the convoluted presence of Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) as Jigsaw's next successor, before the eighth movie Jigsaw revealed a super-secret third major apprentice, Logan Nelson (Matt Passmore), who predates all the others and spent years inactive before taking up Jigsaw's mantle in the present.
At least you can say that Hoffman was eventually developed into a vicious, nasty villain who fans couldn't wait to see die, but Logan was a total damp squib of a secret accomplice who reflected the series' aching desperation to remain tethered to John Kramer.
If the upcoming Saw X gives us yet another random apprentice, the series hasn't merely jumped the shark - as if it hasn't already - it doesn't even know what a shark is.