M. Night Shyamalan Confirms Sequel for 'Unbreakable' and 'Split'

By Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter

After 17 years, M. Night Shyamalan is finally delivering a proper sequel to Unbreakable.

The writer-director announced the news Wednesday on Twitter after months of teasing a new script he’s been writing. He revealed the film is called Glass, and that Bruce Willis (as David Dunn) and Samuel L. Jackson (as Mr. Glass/Elijah Price) will return. Universal will release the film on Jan. 18, 2019.

“It’s taken 17 years but I can finally answer the #1 question I get, ‘Are you making a f#&@ing sequel to Unbreakable or what?’ ” he tweeted. “My new film is the sequel to #Unbreakable AND #Split. It was always my dream to have both films collide in this third film.”

Unbreakable, which Shyamalan released in 2000 one year after skyrocketing to stardom with The Sixth Sense, deconstructed the superhero genre and remains one of his best-regarded works.

Shyamalan is coming off a hot streak, with his latest movie, Split, earning more than $275 million worldwide on a $9 million budget. He has been tweeting progress on a Split follow-up for several months. His 2015 found-footage film The Visit was also a box-office hit and well-liked by critics.

[Warning: Spoilers ahead for Split]

Split starred James McAvoy as a kidnapper with multiple personalities and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, one of the young women who must fight to survive his capture.

With Split, Shyamalan pulled off perhaps his greatest twist yet.

A last-minute cameo from Willis revealed that Split is set in the same universe as Unbreakable. In January, Shyamalan revealed to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision that Split villain Kevin Wendle Crumb (McAvoy) was actually included in his first drafts of Unbreakable, but had to be cut out. He also revealed he was hoping to write and direct a third film that would include characters from both films.

Shyamalan revealed Wednesday that both McAvoy and Taylor-Joy will return for Glass. Here’s the logline Universal has released: “Following the conclusion of SPLIT, GLASS finds Dunn pursuing Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.”

Glass will be produced by Shyamalan and Jason Blum, with Ashwin Rajan and Marc Bienstock, and Steven Schneider, who will executive produce.

Here’s Shyamalan’s announcement:

Read More from THR:

• ‘Split’: M. Night Shyamalan Explains an Ending Years in the Making

• James McAvoy on Learning of ‘Split’ Twist, Prospect of Joining Another Franchise

• ‘Split’: M. Night Shyamalan on How His Low-Budget Gamble Set Him Free