Whether you love or loathe him, before M. Night Shyamalan began dividing audiences in a way that marmite could only dream, the eclectic director released The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable within the space of two years, justifying his reputation as one of the promising up-and-comers in the industry. As two standalone science fiction movies, each was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and in a recent interview with Collider, the filmmaker touched base on the possibility of an Unbreakable 2.
Fifteen years after the release of the original, Shyamalan revealed that he does contemplate the feasibility of a sequel to this day.
Yeah, I do sometimes. I love those characters and I love that world. Of course, the whole world makes comic book movies now. At the time, it was completely novel. I remember when I made it, Disney was literally like, “Comic books?! There’s no market for comic books!” That’s all they make now! It was a hilarious conversation. I remember it. I was like, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe nobody will come see comic book movies.” They were like, “Those are people in little conventions who like comic books.” And I was like, “But, I like comic books!”
It’s an interesting quote, offering a peek back to a time when superhero and comic book movies were considered dead in the water; in fact, given how the foreseeable future is jam-packed with Marvel and DC films, it’s almost hard to imagine the cinematic landscape not too long ago. But perhaps the reason why Shyamalan is still drawn to Unbreakable is the film’s approach to realism, and he’d like that to continue should he be provided with a shot at a continuation.
But the beauty of the world of Unbreakable is that you’re playing it for reality. It should never feel like a comic book movie. It feels like a straight-up drama. It’s real. You’re confronting the possibility that comic book characters were based on people that were real. That’s the premise, so the tone has to be super grounded. It would be cool.
Released back in the year 2000, Unbreakable starred Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis as a man who survived an impossible situation: a horrible train accident that leaves every passenger on board dead bar him. Perplexed, Willis’ protagonist soon discovers that he does indeed have superhuman strength, embodying the titular phenomena.
How exactly M. Night Shyamalan could bring back the two personas for an Unbreakable 2 is up in the air for now, but should the director get the greenlight, it’ll be interesting to see whether he pursues the same actors or starts afresh.
