By Universal seems to still be high on M. Night Shyamalan as the studio as announced a deal with the director to make two original thrillers that will and February 26, 2021 and February 17, 2023. The director and studio have a long history together including the recently successful Split and the not-as-successful Glass.
There’s no word on how much money he’ll get to make these films but he’s back on the industry’s good side after Split revived his flagging career so I’m sure he’ll get decent budgets on both. I’m not so sure he should, though. Look, I like good Shymalan movies but the man only delivers one of those every six or seven films and since Split was the last good one we’re in for a bumpy ride for a few years. Maybe Universal is content to ride it it out in the hopes that his wins will make up for the losses but that’s a tough sell.
Now, the real question is if both these movies will continue on with the burgeoning Unbreakable superhero universe that was set up in Glass. That movie ended on a note that could mean a series of “superhero” films and with Universal’s Dark Universe failing maybe they’re that desperate to create something else. The use of “original” in the press release makes me think they want to tell people that they aren’t connected but they could be.
