Saw universe. That idea eventually became "Chris came in with a thriller concept. He pitched this very elaborate, dense idea," director Darren Lynn Bousman, who previously helmed Saws II - IV, told Empire Magazine for the publication's March 2021 issue. We wanted it to feel much more like [David Fincher's] Se7en, but it has so many ties to the mythos of Saw ... Gore and violence was the gimmick [for the earlier movies], I think. Gore and violence is no longer a gimmick — it just serves the story. This is much more about character, tension, and fear." Being a comedian by trade, though, Rock helped infuse the screenplay (written by series veterans Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger) with some "outrageously hilarious" elements that helps offset the film's more nihilistic elements. "Chris is the real deal," Bousman added. "He's not only got the genre, he was kind of an expert in it. He would make these obscure references and I'd be like, 'How the f*** do you know that?'"