First off, I’ll say my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film and the one I feel is most re-watchable is Unbreakable. The comic book-based film was released in 1999 and featured a cast of two A-list actors in Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.
When Unbreakable first came out, it was met with mixed criticism. Although it later became a hit and one of the better films under his belt, M. Night was discouraged from continuing on with that idea due to some of the negative initial reaction to the movie.
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That mixed response was nothing compared to what he faced with his more recent films. Mr. Shyamalan has really hurt his fan base with his last two features: Lady in the Water and The Happening. Both of these films earned lower-than-expected box office gross and were met with overwhelmingly negative feedback (including here at Screen Rant).
Now is the time to turn back to what made M. Night so successful in the past by working on projects that the fans want - and it seems this just may be exactly the case. Speaking with Sci-Fi Wire about a possible Unbreakable sequel, M.Night said:
“I want to write it right now, but I want to write it for the right reasons. I want a story to pop into my head that is organic and expressive of who I am.”
I was fooled into seeing The Happening, but luckily missed out on Lady in the Water. I am therefore reluctant to see another original M. Night film. However, if it is an Unbreakable sequel then I’ll pre-order my tickets as soon as they’re available.
I think they should of done this a while ago. This could have easily continued as a franchise trilogy and with the emergence of the comic-book movie genre over the last few years, they should be getting on this project right away!
I would imagine that Bruce Willis would have to be back as the lead, and I would certainly hope to see Mr. Glass (Sam L.) make a return. A project like this is exactly what could flip the downslide of Shyamalan at the box office. It could also help build confidence and re-kindle the his dwindling fan base in preparation for the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender trilogy that he is signed on for.
What do you guys think? Will you give M. Night another chance? Are you in for more Unbreakable action?
Source: Sci Fi Wire
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33 Comments
First, I remember reading that Unbreakable was supposed to be a trilogy when M. Night first wrote it. So what happened to 2nd and 3rd parts? A lot of the critics were saying that they didn’t like the first film because it seemed to be relying on a second film to answer its remaining questions.
Second, I also loved Unbreakable. Just watched it again a few days ago for the first time since it was in theaters, and it still has all the charm I remember.
Third, I would actually recommend Lady in the Water to anybody. While The Happening was absolutely atrocious, I also refused to see Lady in the Water because of all the negative criticism. I waited until a few weeks ago to finally see it (as waiting until your mind is completely objective can definitely help) and I LOVED Lady in the Water.
Can’t say I ever think I’ll like The Happening though…
I will give Lady in the Water a chance…eventually
I have alot on my ‘to-watch’ list at the moment.
Lady In The Water is a great movie when you look at the in this context.
Lady In the Water is basically Lord Of The Rings except done in real life. If you dissect all the characters, they are the equivalent of a Mage, Warrior, Rogue, etc. It is an RPG done true to life, like how Unbreakable is the only true ‘real’ comic book movie.
Except for the fact that this guy put himself in the movie in that role (so selfish), it is also a good example of proper storytelling and defining characters.
I might have liked “Lady in the Water” had it been directed by someone else. It came across as pretentious, yet cheesy.
Neat trick, that.
Vic
As the story/structure of the movie went, they’d have to bring back Sam L. as the bad guy–or just someone who kidnaps Bruce’s family.
Anyone else think this could only turn into more Superman-movie washouts? Him drowning in every film // his kid having super powers?
So many ways for the sequel to go wrong, I’m kinda worried.
Rev
I loved 6th Sense and I loved Unbreakable even more. Great story , fantastic cast.
I would gladly go see an Unbreakable sequel , if they get Mr Willis AND Mr Jackson back.
I would love to see this sequel. Unbreakable was Night’s best movie. Sixth Sense was fantastic. Signs was a wonderful renewal of faith for moviegoers-in God, aliens, and Shyamalan. The Village was ok at best. The twist seemed forced, and the plot of the movie insists way too much on itself. Lady in the Water…um, sucked. Out loud. Sorry. And the Happening? I didn’t see it, but somehow I think if I had, it would have made me want to kill myself too(maybe that’s the twist). But a sequel to this could be amazing. Have David explore his powers more, be a hero, maybe show him getting stronger taking on more challenges, show him have real powers. As far as Elijah, I think he should be behind bars, but be used in the sequel like Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. Helping him to catch the new villain. That would be suh-weet!
I mean what comic movies (or any movies for that matter) is he NOT in, lol.
I think the sequel could add new characters with Mr.Glass orchestrating behind the scenes. Perhaps that could tie into the third installment.
But this is all just excitement talking on my part - they’ve not even made a script and/or signed anyone for this project.
A lot of his movies suck, the only ones I liked were Signs, Unbreakable, and The Sixth Sense. I do have to give credit to the fact that at least he does try and make original movies, unlike a lot of people.
@huntthejest
“And the Happening? I didn’t see it, but somehow I think if I had, it would have made me want to kill myself too (maybe that’s the twist).”
ROFLMAO!!!
Vic
Unbreakable 2 /
yeah,I will see that?
The happening ?
NEVER!
M.Night is my favorite director and writer. All his films are based on character development and story. No one writes a more original story than M. Night. Sixth Since was amazing, Signs = awesome, Village - a great love story told in the most original way I have seen, Lady was exactly what is was advertised to be, great no but very enjoyable. And with Happening he was just trying to give his fans what they were craving and got booed for it, when all in all it was a very original movie with a very logical moral. And Mark and Zoey were phenomenal. And as for a sequel for Unbreakable I would gladly buy the tickets NOW. What a great movie and the sequel would be just as awesome, as long as Bruce and Sam was on board. I dont see how they wouldn’t be when Bruce took a big chance with his pay for the Sixth Sense and it payed off big time for him. I think he would be all for this.
I would argue that many disagree completely about Mark and Zoey being ‘phenomenal’. Alot of people thought the cast was weak in The Happening.
As for trying to please the fans. There was no ‘twist’ in it since it was given from the start.
@ Rob
I just think that alot of so called M. Night fans are spoiled. His movie aren’t always meant for a twist(I.E. Signs- it didnt have a twist and it was amazing, that ending just tied everything together). His movies are about the stories and only the stories. And as for Mark and Zoey, The scene where Marks character claims he wanted to have an affair while they were runing for their lives was excellent. That scene just showed that they were meant to survive and be together no matter what, they can always work through their problems. But thats just my Opinion. Its ok if you dont like his movies my opinion just is he is the best story teller in all his films. They are very unique.
I am so glad to hear you ask “Can you give M. Night another chance.” I think he’s a creative guy and the ideas he comes up with are way more original than all the other remakes and sequels that are out there. I would definitely see an Unbreakable 2 as well as anything else Night makes.
Rob, I am with you absolutely. Night HAS to go back to the sandbox and see what else he can build for a next chapter. UNBREAKABLE is visually economic, like SIGNS, THE SIXTH SENSE or LADY IN THE WATER (I haven’t seen THE HAPPENING yet), and that intimacy not only fosters the tone of the film but makes for a more down-to-earth budget, increasing the likelihood of a deal — especially if Jackson and Willis agree to stake on back end. The hurdle here could be for M. Night and Disney to come together again, as UNBREAKABLE was made there. This assumes that it wasn’t in Night’s plan to open up the scale next time, raising the stakes from the personal to more epic heights with UNBREAKABLE 2– as could be surmised from the revelations at UNBREAKABLE’s climax…
Uh, I don’t know which “Lady in the Water” you guys watched, but the one I saw directed by a guy named M. Night Shyamalan, it was so unwatchable I wanted to claw my eyes out… It was like Battlefield Earth… no wait, nothing is worse than Battlefield Earth… but it was close…
I liked Battlefield Earth, so I’m definitely going to watch Lady in the Water now.
Unbreakable is my favourite Shyamalan film and one of the only films that I would like to see a sequel to.
I have yet to see any one of his movies live up to the hype surrounding it. I may be out on my own on this one, but they were ok, and I didn’t think Unbreakable was that great. Great cast yes, but just an ok movie. I think a sequel is a bad idea. But then again, this is coming from someone who turns the first one on to help him fall asleep.
WOW, you know, normally I would agree that taste in movies are all personal preference and that every movie will have its fans, but I could have sworn the makers of Battlefield Earth were TRYING to torture us… Like they intentionally tried to make a film nobody could sit through.
Literally, I was almost crying it was so painful, people were walking out in large groups halfway through the film, and the few who remained until the end, people were pushing other people to get out of the theater as quickly as possible. I’m not even joking, some poor lady almost got trampled. It was like a mass exodus, like an evacuation, like someone just set off the biological contamination alarms in there, lol.
But I guess in my hurry to get out of there, I might have missed the one or maybe two people who took their time in leaving because they didn’t mind it too much.
In case you’re wondering why I went to the theater, I used to write movie reviews a lot and I kind of HAD to sit through the whole thing in order to have an accurate and objective review. Thinking back I have no idea why I bothered with that one though, the professional critics were saying enough to keep people away from that film.
It makes me sad you had to experience that, lol. Sounds like a bad dream
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a well-thought-out sequel to Unbreakable. It is my fav M. Night film by far.
Haha, I wish it was just a dream, but unfortunately I think it did real damage to my prefontal cortex…
Well, I thought Unbreakable was boring at times and when it started to really pick up, it ended. I liked the concept and the actors but Bruce’s character, with his brooding, just bored me.
@Ken
Bro, I could not believe how bad Battlefield Earth was. What were Forrest Whittiker and John Travolta thinking? Forget water torture or the chair; putting this DVD in my player and forcing me to watch it is cruel and unusual punishment. :o)
Oops, I brought this up in the open discussion not realizing it’s already been covered here.
I am very on board with this idea. I remember being bummed out when he stated he had changed his mind about continuing the story for this. This news brought a smile to my face today. (which was well needed after my car took a flying dump this morning on the way to work.. bleh)
I really hope this goes through and both Willis and Jackson agree to return. There is a lot of room to play with this story. I also hope it doesn’t find a spot on the current M. Night downward slide that his movies have been on.
Kahless, I don’t know about Whitaker, but Travolta probably did the movie because of its scientology origins.
Wait a second. People liked, even loved ‘Lady in the Water’?!?
Me and my wife were on the floor in hysterical laughter at the absolute absurdness of this movie until someone leaned over and informed us it was not a comedy. The demon tree monkeys, other dimensional porcupines, giant swooping eagle creature and whatever else was in there… ugh, and i’m usually the one to really dig the weird factor.
As a testament that I usually dig the weird factor. I admit… that I… um… er. Ok I’ll say it. I liked ‘Battlefield Earth’. There I said it and yes, you read that correctly. I like Battlefield Earth. lol
shayamalan, in my opinion, is trying to be the next steven king of movies (as a result of the weirdness factor in his films). frankly, i think his movies are terrible. however, i did like Signs. I don’t understand why the mood of his characters in his films always seem to be part gloomy with a mix of weidness. it’s like smiling and liveliness for his characters are not allowed.
I think you’re right about Travolta. I heard years ago that’s why he did it.
Quicksilver, I think I would agree with that. And Steven King’s movies are just as terrible, lol. Not his books, I’m sure his books are great, I don’t read them, but I know just about everyone says they are great, everyone can’t be wrong I suppose, but his movies are absolute garbage… Well, the majority of the times, I remember liking maybe one or two King movies, but usually they are pretty horrible. His cameo is always bad because he can’t act to save his life, lol. Even if you had no clue how he looked like, you can use this as a basis to find him. He will be the cameo of extraordinarily bad acting, lol.
@blipvert
I’ll say it. I liked ‘Battlefield Earth’
So, when did you get that lobotomy?
@Ken
Figures. I’m surprised Tom Cruise wasn’t with him.
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