Saw director James Wan "would've taken certain things on a different path" had he continued to lead the gory franchise.
"But that's why I've never necessarily been critical about where the franchise has gone," Wan, 47, tells PEOPLE as his horror classic turns 20.
He makes sure to give props to the movie's studio Lionsgate and "all of the subsequent directors" that came after he directed the 2004 original, written by his Saw co-creator (and star of the first movie) Leigh Whannell.
"They've all done a great job shepherding this franchise and continuing to make as many as they have," Wan tells PEOPLE. "So kudos to them for knowing what to do, and the direction of where they felt they needed to take it."
Wan has remained on the Saw team in some capacity, from executive producing to story writing, beginning with Saw II (2005) all the way through to the most recent Saw X (2023), which explores more of the backstory of the John Kramer/Jigsaw character, played by Tobin Bell.
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Reflecting on his time making the first movie, Wan tells PEOPLE "there's nothing perfect about that film" for him and "that the making of Saw was literally me spending every day fighting for the things that I cannot get."
"So even though the movie and the franchise itself it's a comfort to others, as a filmmaker, as a director, you cannot help but see all the things that you did not get," he explains. "And I guess that's how we are as artists, is we don't really see the cup is half full — we s -
ee the cup is half empty."
Wan admits that he still has "a little bit of that sort of mentality" about Saw two decades later, during which time he has gone on to create other wildly successful horror franchises like The Conjuring and Insidious, the latter also alongside fellow Aussie Whannell, 47.
"But obviously people have loved it," Wan says of the original Saw. "And definitely, I can now, I guess, look back through a more rose-tinted glass as opposed to how I felt back then."
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According to Box Office Mojo, Saw was made on a budget of $1.2 million. It went on to rake in more than $109 million in theaters worldwide, while the franchise as a whole has earned over $1 billion at the box office since its genesis.
"I'm grateful for, I guess, the length of the budget, because then it forced me to be as creative as I possibly could," Wan tells PEOPLE of the original Saw.
Asked if he'd ever direct a Saw movie again, Wan — who is currently on several projects, including a producing credit on The Monkey and gearing up to direct his first-ever horror remake, The Creature from the Black Lagoon — tells PEOPLE, "I would never say never, but it would have to be something extremely special for me to want to step back in."
"And right now, I have so many other projects that I'm cooking in the pipeline that mean a lot to me," he explains. "So I would rather work on those and see those get off the ground before something else that I've already done."
Saw is streaming on Max and Peacock.
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