20 Things You Didn't Know About Saw
11. Billy The Puppet Was Created From Scratch
The most iconic image in the Saw franchise is not the serial killer himself but his puppet, Billy. Surprisingly, Billy's design isn't based on anything. The director, James Wan, devised the puppet from scratch. Billy was made of clay, papier-mâché, and paper towel tubes. Ping-pong balls were painted black-and-red and used for his eyes. To make Billy move on his tricycle, the director attached a fishing line to him and moved him around the set.
In the Saw short film that he debuted in, Billy looks the same except he wears a bowler hat. (This was probably removed from the series because Billy looked too awesome.) However, this version of Billy does appear in the first film. When Amanda is watching Jigsaw's tape, the original puppet appears in the background for a split-second.
Although the puppet is pretty primitive in the first film, he was redesigned for the sequels so he had mechanical features which allowed him to be moved with a remote control.
Because Billy is so beloved by fans, Leigh Whannell and James Wan have inserted him into other projects they have made including Death Sentence and Dead Silence.