Samuel L. Jackson reveals he will start filming Glass, the followup to M. Night Shyamalan's hit thriller Split, in September. Released back in January of this year, Split got 2017 in film off to an excellent start, buoyed by a chilling performance from James McAvoy playing a man with an extreme case of dissociative identity disorder. On its own merits, Split was a captivating and compelling work by Shyamalan, but its final moments made it something even bigger than just a comeback vehicle. The last scene revealed that Split is set in the same universe as 2000's Unbreakable, Shyamalan's fan-favorite superhero drama starring Bruce Willis and Jackson. For the last 17 years, a sequel to that movie has been in high demand.

With Split proving to be a success ($276.9 million worldwide on a $9 million budget), Shyamalan will finally get a chance to reacquaint viewers with David Dunn (Willis) and Elijah Price, aka Mr. Glass (Jackson). The filmmaker has been hard at work on the script, progressing nicely as the project was locked in for a 2019 release date. He apparently has all the pieces in place, since the plan is for Glass to start production in the very near future.

In an interview with Collider to promote the action/comedy The Hitman's Bodyguard, Jackson was asked about Glass. The actor confirmed a start date for principal photography, mentioning cameras will be rolling come September:

“We start rehearsal on [September] 18th and I start shooting on the 25th.”

This schedule means that Glass is being put on the very fast track, quickly coming into fruition following Split's theatrical run. Shortly after Split opened, Shyamalan mentioned he had a "robust outline" for a sequel, so this is a story he's had in mind for a while. Since that time, the writer/director has dedicated a majority of his time to penning the Glass screenplay, offering periodic updates over the past few months. Normally, it isn't good when films are rushed through the pipeline, but given how long an Unbreakable sequel has been gestating, fans will be happy to see it hit the big screen sooner rather than later.

With production starting in a little over a month (as of this writing), viewers should expect to hear about casting updates to fill out the various supporting roles. In July, Golden Globe winner Sarah Paulson came on board, joining Willis, Jackson, McAvoy, and Split star Anya Taylor-Joy. It will be interesting to see who else joins the project, especially since it'll be one of the more in-demand titles on the horizon.

MORE: Glass Will Have A Bigger Budget Than Split

Source: Collider