First-time writer-director Darren Lynn Bousman will directSaw 2, the sequel to Twisted Pictures'2004 horror hit that grossed close to $100m worldwide through Lions Gate.

Principalphotography is set to begin on May 2 in Toronto in time for a Halloween releasein North America.

TwistedPictures' Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules and Mark Burg are producing, as they didon the original.

Saw director James Wan and Leigh Whannel,that picture's writer and co-star, are serving as executive producers alongwith Stacey Testro, Lions Gate president of acquisitions, TV, andco-productions Peter Block, and senior vice president of acquisitions JasonConstantine.

Details of thestoryline remain a closely guarded secret. Bousman, a commercials and musicvideo director, wrote the original screenplay and developed it in conjunctionwith Whannel and Wan.

"In our briefhistory, Twisted Pictures has never gone the 'safe' route with regard to itschoice in material or filmmakers," Hoffman, Koules and Burg said in a jointstatement from Twisted, which is Evolution Entertainment's genre productionarm.

"Darren'spassion and incredible work on the Saw 2 script, as well as his strong work in the short filmformat, convinced us that he was the right person to entrust with ourfranchise."

"Saw boasted a unique vision and smartstorytelling," Block added. "By teaming again with Leigh and James, andbringing Darren aboard, we are striving to embrace what worked so well in theoriginal, while still providing a fresh look by a filmmaker who was influencedby the risks we took with Saw."

Twisted Pictures iscurrently in production on Catacombs under its nine-picture distribution and financing deal with Lions Gate.The story of an American tourist who strays into the Paris catacombs starsShannyn Sossamon and Alecia Moor, aka Pink, and is co-written and co-directedby David Elliot and Tomm Coker. Principal photography was due to start inRomania in early March.

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