Today, Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures announced today that Darren Lynn Bousman (“Saw II” and “Saw III”) is back to direct “Saw IV”. Aussies James Wan and Leigh Whannell will merely be executive producers on the next chapter.

“Saw IV” is slated to begin shooting April 16 for six weeks and will be released domestically and internationally October 26, 2007.

Added Bousman, “It’s not often that a filmmaker is given the opportunity to follow a genuinely compelling character through two films, much less three. So I’m very excited about picking up the reins on ‘Saw IV,’ and delving even deeper into the Jigsaw legend.”

With a worldwide box office of over $400 million, the “Saw” series is the most successful horror franchise of all time. Saw III opened at #1 domestically on October 27, 2006, and opened at #1 in eleven additional countries, including the U.K. and Australia; it was the year’s top-grossing horror film, taking in over $80 million domestically and over $100 internationally. The DVD, released on January 23, 2007, repeated the success of its two predecessors as it debuted as the week’s #1 new home entertainment release.

Following Saw IV, Lionsgate, Twisted Pictures and Bousman will reunite for “Repo! The Genetic Opera”, a horror opera which Bousman will direct from an original story by co-composers and screenwriters Terrence Zdunich and Darren Smith. The film is set in a not-too-distant future when a worldwide epidemic of organ failures inspires a biotech company to launch an organ financing program reminiscent of an automobile loan plan — complete with a repossession clause. Bousman, who directed the original stage production of “Repo!,” has been planning a big screen version for several years. Lionsgate signed on to distribute after viewing a 12-minute promo reel that Bousman created in 1 1/2 days, the exact same scenario that brought the company the first “Saw” feature.