Starting the Saw franchise with terminal cancer, it was only a matter of time until Jigsaw died, but death didn't end his game by a long shot. Needless to say, when future superstar director James Wan and his frequent creative collaborator Leigh Whannell sat down to write the script for Saw, neither man assumed that the film would launch a franchise that will drop its ninth installment in 2020. If they had, it stands to reason that they would've thought twice about writing John "Jigsaw" Kramer as a cancer patient on death's door.
Jigsaw, and Tobin Bell's work playing him, have become horror legend, and were already an instant hit upon Saw's 2004 release in theaters. Thus, the fact that he was living on borrowed time quickly became a liability to the franchise, as nobody wanted Saw sequels without Jigsaw, but it was entirely unrealistic to present him as being extremely sick, only to let him keep on living year after year.
So, the man known as John Kramer eventually did meet his end. Of course, that hasn't stopped him from continuing to appear in further Saw sequels, as well as continue to influence events from beyond the grave. If only more people were gifted with the insanely specific planning skills Jigsaw possesses.
Saw: How Jigsaw Died (& How He Kept Returning)
After twisting the brains of both his victims and pursuers into knots over the course of three films - and sometimes their bodies as well - John "Jigsaw" Kramer - finally met his demise at the end of Saw 3. John was shot by Jeff Denlon, which caused the latter to fail his final test, and cause the death of his own wife Lynn. John's fury was obviously understandable, as both he and his wife had been put through hell. Still, it wasn't wise to break the rules of Jigsaw's game. Lest any fans think it was a ruse, Saw 4 opened with a lengthy, gruesome scene of Jigsaw's body undergoing an autopsy. Sure enough, he was dead as a doornail.
That immediately presented the problem of how best to continue the cash cow Saw series without its lead villain. Jigsaw ended up being incorporated into all the following Saw sequels by way of flashbacks and recordings, which was really the only conceivable way to do it, as Saw doesn't contain supernatural elements. The way John's games continued proved to be more convoluted though, with his legacy being furthered by a seemingly endless supply of apprentices, such as Detective Hoffman, Amanda, and Dr. Gordon. John was also apparently so good at predicting behavior that he bordered on clairvoyant, with most films making it clear that what his disciples were carrying out was still very much his agenda, despite the noticeable handicap of being dead. It remains to be seen how Chris Rock's new Saw film will manage to get Tobin Bell and Jigsaw into the mix, but it's hard to imagine that not happening.