For seventeen years, fans of M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable have wished for a sequel to the moody superhero drama. Now it looks like the filmmaker is making their wish come true: Shyamalan announced today on Twitter that his next film will be Glass, a sequel to both Unbreakable and his most recent film Split. This news gives away a twist involving Split: a brief ending scene reveals it’s set in same universe as Unbreakable.
“My new film is the sequel to #Unbreakable AND #Split. It was always my dream to have both films collide in this third film,” Shyamalan tweeted, confirming that Unbreakable’s Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson would both return, along with Split’s James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Unbreakable focused on depressed security guard David Dunn (Willis) who, after surviving a deadly train crash, realizes he’s never been sick or injured in his entire life. With the guidance of comic book expert Elijah Price (Jackson), Dunn comes to recognize he’s the real-world equivalent of a superhero. It wouldn’t be a Shyamalan film without a twist, and Unbreakable concluded with David discovering that while he may be a real-life superhero, Elijah is a supervillain, responsible for several acts of terrorism, including the train crash that set David’s journey in motion.
Split featured McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man suffering from multiple personality disorder who kidnaps a trio of girls, including Anya Taylor-Joy’s character, Casey Cooke. Split’s big climax revealed that Crumb possessed superhuman abilities, including the ability to turn himself into a monstrous creature dubbed “The Beast.”
Universal released the following logline for the film (via THR): “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.” Universal will release Glass on January 18, 2019.
Check out our discussion below, along with Shyamalan’s tweets.
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?”
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
My new film is the sequel to #Unbreakable AND #Split. It was always my dream to have both films collide in this third film.
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
The iconic Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
The incomparable @SamuelLJackson will return as Elijah Price/Mr. Glass
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
The virtuoso #JamesMcAvoy returns as Kevin Wendell Crumb, Patricia, Dennis, Hedwig, Barry, Jade, Orwell, The Beast, Heinrich, Norma, Pol-
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
And the prodigy, @AnyaTaylorJoy will return as Casey Cooke
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
I’m reteaming with my partners @jason_blum and @Universalpics for this crazy comic book thriller.
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
And the film is called GLASS…
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017
Universal Pictures will release #Glass on January 18, 2019 all over the world. How’s that for not keeping a secret!
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) April 26, 2017