It remains to be seen how Spiral: From the Book of Saw will connect to the prior films, but there's one particular character that should return. Initially touted as a reboot, Spiral, starring and executive produced by Chris Rock, remains shrouded in mystery. The marketing so far has revealed very little, outside of that a Jigsaw-esque serial killer has emerged, and is targeting cops, leading Rock's detective character to investigate.
It's entirely unclear if there will be any direct ties to the narrative of the previous Saw movies, or to John "Jigsaw" Kramer's past games. It's also unknown if any characters from the other eight films are set to return, further tying Spiral back to the Saw installments of yore. One thing does seem certain though, and that's this is very much designed to be a Saw movie, and please Saw fans, as Rock himself is a noted fan of the franchise.
With Spiral: From the Book of Saw's cop-centered plot though, we can't help but think back to another lawman who ended up playing a vital role in the Saw series: Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). Arguably Jigsaw's most brutal apprentice, it's time for him to get back in the game.
One Saw Character Spiral Should Bring Back
Since Jigsaw began the Saw franchise with terminal cancer, he naturally ended up dying after the first three films. This left things up to John's various apprentices, some of which who weren't even aware of each other, to carry on his twisted legacy. Detective Hoffman became an apprentice after essentially framing John for a murder, and then being coerced by him into helping the cause for real. Hoffman was seemingly left to die at the hands of Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) at the end of Saw 7: The Final Chapter, but as every veteran horror fan knows, if someone doesn't die onscreen, there's always a chance they could be revealed to have survived their predicament.
Hoffman was shown to be extremely smart, calculating, and resourceful, so it's not at all hard to imagine him emerging from Gordon's seemingly inescapable trap. He already managed to survive after John's wife Jill Tuck caused his face to get snapped in half with the infamous reverse bear trap. While Hoffman doesn't necessarily need to be Spiral: From the Book of Saw's main villain, he very well could be, as he certainly ended up on bad terms with his former department. The killer could also have a connection to or an old beef with Hoffman, which would likely figure into why they hate cops enough to target them for death.
