SPOILER WARNING: If you haven’t yet seen Split, we advise turning back now and re-visiting this article once you have, as spoilers will follow. You’ve been warned.
M. Night Shyamalan is the master of the twist. Say what you want about the director and his divisive body of work, but the man knows how to pull the rug out from under audiences better than most. For proof of this, look no further than his recent effort, Split. While a solid film in its own right, it’s really the ending that’s got people giddy with excitement.
That’s because as the flick barrels towards its conclusion, it’s revealed that what we’ve been watching actually takes place in the same universe as one of the director’s most beloved movies, Unbreakable, with Bruce Willis even making an appearance as David Dunn. It’s a jaw-dropping twist and one that sets up a proper sequel, which is something fans have been waiting a very, very long time for.
Earlier this week, Shyamalan revealed that Unbreakable 2 is indeed next for him, and while speaking to Empire, he confirmed that he’s currently penning the outline for the film:
“I’m writing the outline now. It’s weird. It’s long. It’s the longest outline I’ve ever had. It has so many characters… I hope if Split is a success, I’ll have the opportunity to finish the story. I want to finish it, so this is the third one.”
Thankfully, it looks like the director will get his wish, as Split appears to be a hit. Reviews are mostly positive and the movie’s generated a healthy $52 million so far. Plus, with word about the Unbreakable connection now out in the open, it’s likely that more people will flock to theaters this weekend to see just what all the excitement is about.
Of course, given Shyamalan’s tendency to go off the rails, as seen in a few of his previous efforts, there is some concern over whether or not he can deliver a competent thriller with Unbreakable 2. For now though, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. He seems to be at the start of a career comeback of sorts and we found Split to be quite enjoyable.
It was far from perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than most of the other titles on his filmography and now that Shyamalan is returning to one of his most celebrated works, we’re feeling pretty confident that maybe he’ll finally be able to deliver on the potential and promise he showed all those years ago when his career first began.
