We always head into an M. Night Shyamalan movie expecting a huge twist, but the filmmaker delivered one of his biggest surprises to date when he ended Split by tying it into Unbreakable. He'd follow that with Glass, a crossover, of sorts, that divided opinions but served as an undeniably fascinating sequel to his 2000 classic.
Shyamalan's career has been a fun one to follow, and ahead of the return of Servant to Apple TV+ and Knock at the Cabin's release in theaters next month, he spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about a number of topics.
Among them was The Visit, a movie that saw two kids sent off to visit the grandparents they'd never met, only to realise that the old people "caring" for them are, in fact, a couple of escaped mental patients. It's a bonkers, highly enjoyable outing from Shyamalan, and one which very nearly also ended up tying into Glass!
Asked if he's ever considered creating a Shyamalan-verse of sorts, the director responded, "If I was smart enough to have thought about it 20 some years ago, I would’ve done it, but I wasn’t smart enough to think about it."
"There was one tie-in that I almost did. It was in Glass when they all got to the mental institution," he continued. "I was going to tell a story about The Visit and how two people escaped from that same hospital...I was going to do it, but I chickened out. So I didn’t do it."
This could have worked, and as Easter Eggs go, we're sure Shyamalan's fans would have appreciated it. Of course, it might have also created an expectation for all his past and future projects to take place in the same world, so we can understand why the filmmaker ultimately decided to "chicken out" as he puts it.
Needless to say, we'll still be keeping a very close eye on Knock at the Cabin for any signs it might have something in common with Shyamalan's past work...