Do you want to play a game?
NECA will re-release their Billy the Puppet figure from the SAW movie franchise, almost 12 years after the initial release of the original figure. The estimated time for re-release is in January 2023.
The original 12" figure was revealed at San Diego Comic Con in 2010. The re-release has "new paint deco and closed box packaging," according to the description on the NECA Online website. The figure features Billy with the signature white face makeup and red cheek spirals, black eyes with red irises, and black hair. Billy is sitting on a red tricycle, holding onto the handlebars with its white gloved hands, and wearing its signature black tuxedo with a red bow tie and a red handkerchief in its pocket. It has a button on its back that, when pressed, sounds from the movie are played.
SAW, the now infamous horror franchise, was created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, who originally pitched the concept of SAW with a short film. That short film spawned the first movie, released in 2003, along with various other films and merchandise. The iconic puppet character with its evil cackling laugh is used in the SAW movies by John Kramer (Tobin Bell), also known as the killer Jigsaw, who chooses his victims based on if they don't seem to appreciate their life. He doesn't kill his victims directly; instead, he traps them in what he calls a "game," a test of will through various means of torture and entrapment.
Jigsaw uses Billy to deliver messages to his victims (either via taped recordings, on a TV screen, or in-person on a tricycle) and describe the rules of the "game"--the traps Jigsaw sets for his victims. Through Billy, Jigsaw talks about why the victims were chosen and how they can survive the traps before their time runs out, and it's "game over." If the victims lose, they die and Jigsaw takes a puzzle-piece shape out of their flesh as a souvenir. If the victims survive, they win the "game" and can go free; they are supposedly rehabilitated by Jigsaw and learn how to appreciate their lives.
You can preorder the Billy the Puppet figure from the Big Bad Toy Store website and the Entertainment Earth website for $119.99 and $109.99, respectively.