It has taken twenty years for cult-cinema director M. Night Shyamalan to create one of the most iconic film trilogies, which, like it or not, has already gone down in contemporary cinema history. Few could predict after the phenomenal success of 'The Sixth Sense', that it was in fact Shyamalan's following film, 'Unbreakable', which would end up being one of the cult classics at the start of the new century.
And the reason behind this success, and the constant scrutiny of the film for so many years after its release, is the revolutionary originality of Shyamalan's superhero world, which was, at the same time, a love letter to the superheroes of comics. Sold as a "psychological thriller", 'Unbreakable' went further than the basic confines of the thriller genre, rejecting any definable categorisation, and thus gaining recognition as being one go the best superhero films of all time that is not based in a comic.
The Comeback
Despite the director's notable success and dedicated cult following after titles such as 'Signs', 'The Village', 'The Happening' and 'Lady in the Water', Shyamalan has also been subject to significant criticism due to the catastrophic failures of his career ('The Last Airbender', 'After Earth'). The sudden and considerable collapse of his promising trajectory seemed to be substantial blow to the director.
However, thanks to the producer, Jason Blum, Shyamalan was able to rise from the ashes of his career in 2015 with 'The Visit', reconciling the filmmaker's broken relationship with his fans. Not long after this epic comeback, the world was shocked by Shyamalan's next project, 'Split', which ended up being the belated sequel to the original legend, 'Unbreakable'. Now, twenty years after Shyamalan first conceived the idea in 1999, the director's vision is finally brought to a close with the last instalment in this trilogy, 'Glass', which comes to cinemas this month.
In anticipation of the imminent release of this production, let us recap some of the details of the franchise, which has been as iconic and significant in defining the world as superheroes as cinema giants like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe.
Shyamalan's Universe
1. The Birth
It was during the post-production stages of 'Sixth Sense' that M. Night Shyamalan began working on 'Unbreakable' in 1999. Thanks to the monuments success of the previous title, he was given a certain level of creative freedom with his direction of this new production. However, while the film was not a commercial failure, it did not receive the critics' reviews which were expected.
2. The Original Plan
As Shyamalan has often declared, 'Unbreakable' was always meant to be a trilogy. Just like the structure of the traditional superhero comics which inspired his creation, he planned to tell the story in a series of three acts: the origins of a hero, a confrontation with his enemies, then the final showdown with his arch nemesis.
3. The Cult
With a budget of $75 million, 'Unbreakable' ended up making $242 million worldwide, a significant from the profits of 'Sixth Sense', which gained well over twice as much. The film was advertised as a psychological thriller, taking advantage of the success of his previous title, while in reality it was based more in pop mythology and superheroes. It was not until the film reached the domestic market that 'Unbreakable' achieved the recognition it deserved and become one of the key films of its genre at the turn of the century.
4. Big Names
While writing the script, M. Night Shyamalan always had Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in mind for casting. It was Willis who told Jackson about the script designed specifically for them, which is one of the main reasons for which the actor took on the role of Elijah Price.
It was originally Julianne Moore who was set to play Audrey Dunn, the wife of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), but when the actress decided instead to take on a different project, it was Robin Wright was was cast in the role.
5. Kevin
In the first drafts to 'Unbreakable' the character of Kevin Wendell Crumb was already a part of the story, but he ended up being discarded by Shyamalan later on. But years later, after the success of 'The Visit', the director decided to revive this brainchild of his, giving the character his own starring role in 'Split'. While it is now impossible to imagine anyone other than James McAvoy in the role, it was originally Joaquin Phoenix who was going to play the part.
6. The Twist which United Everything
'Split' at first seemed to be a solvent psychological thriller about the relationship of a psychopath and his multiple personalities with his kidnapped victims. However, in a final twist at the end of the film, a linking thread united it with Shyamalan's 'Unbreakable': the appearance of David Dunn.
7. With Disney's Permission
Although the character of David Dunn was the creative property of Shyamalan, as he had made 'Unbreakable' with Disney, he had to ask their permission to use the character his following projects, 'Split' and 'Glass', and their only condition was their continued involvement. 'Split' was a Blumhouse production, and thus 'Glass' bares the stamp of Blumhouse, Universal, and Disney.
8. Familiar Faces
It could not happen any other way; M. Night Shyamalan himself is making a cameo in 'Glass', reviving the character who briefly appeared in 'Unbreakable' in the football stadium with David Dunn. Once again David Dunn will be back in action, supported as always by his son (Spencer Treat Clark), in a security centre that the director will be making his small appearance with Dunn, serving only to neatly tie together the smaller threads in the trilogy.
9. The Close
If 'Unbreakable' was the introduction of the original hero David Dunn, and 'Split' served to present the Beast as the great villain, then the last film in the trilogy is the final showdown between these men, in which Mr Glass will have his plan fulfilled to expose the world to the existence of these extraordinary powers.
