Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Spiral: From The Book Of Saw
While many were disappointed by the twist ending of Spiral: From the Book of Saw, a potential Spiral 2 could be made better by making Chris Rock’s character the villain. When it hit the big screen in May 2021, Spiral took the Saw franchise in a whole new direction, functioning as more of a spinoff of the series than a full-on sequel. With the original Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer, relegated to no more than a passing reference, the film focused on Detective Zeke Banks, played by Chris Rock, as he investigated a pattern of murders orchestrated by a Jigsaw copycat.
Where things fell apart for some, however, was in Spiral’s ending. Since the Saw franchise is synonymous with twist endings Spiral was no different, as it revealed that Banks’ new partner, rookie detective William Schenk, was the Jigsaw copycat. However, short of the film’s limp attempt to paint Zeke’s father Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson) as a potential suspect, Schenk was the only logical choice left. Compounding this predictability was the fact that when Schenk is presumed dead around the midway point, his death was never actually witnessed, which all but set up the "shock" reveal. Despite a compelling performance by Max Minghella, compared to the lofty standard set by Tobin Bell as John Kramer, Schenk was a boring villain, much like the would-be apprentice Logan from 2017’s Jigsaw.
However, all of this can be saved if Detective Banks himself becomes the villain of the next film in the series. Over the course of Spiral’s events, Zeke is an outcast in his precinct and the only clean cop in a corrupt department. Since Zeke’s father was the one who allowed this corruption to thrive, Schenk punishes Zeke at the end of the film by ostensibly arranging Marcus’ murder at the hands of easily manipulated cops. With Marcus dead and all of Zeke’s efforts for naught, it would be a compelling direction for Zeke to have finally been sufficiently broken, becoming the latest Jigsaw Killer in his quest for vengeance.
Even though Zeke insists on doing almost everything by the book, there is precedent for him operating “outside the law,” so to speak. When he interrogates a meth dealer in Spiral, he gets the information he needs by brutalizing him and pouring alcohol over a compound fracture. This proves that pushed far enough, Zeke does have a mean streak in him. Plus, Zeke giving in and becoming evil would fulfill copycat Schenk’s Spiral ending intentions, proving that for Banks to clean things up, he must get his hands dirty.
One of the most appealing aspects of Spiral: From the Book of Saw was the idea of seeing Chris Rock star in a horror film. If a Spiral 2 must happen, this could be taken one step further, as moviegoers would presumably turn out in droves to see Rock play a horror villain. The Saw series has written itself out of predicaments before, and if Zeke Banks were to turn to the dark side, it could easily do it again.