M. Night Shyamalan's 'Glass': Rough Trailer Of 'Unbreakable,' 'Split' Sequel Showcased At CinemaCon
The different worlds of M. Night Shyamalan's horror films collide in Glass and the director unveils the first footage of the project at CinemaCon.
'Glass' Completes Shyamalan's Trilogy
Glass will bring together Unbreakable's Bruce Willis as David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah "Mr. Glass" Price, and Split's James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke.
Sarah Paulson joins the cast as a psychologist.
Willis, Jackson, McAvoy, and Paulson were all present at CinemaCon as Shyamalan described Glass as the "first truly grounded comic book movie," according to Variety.
The footage shown to the audience begins with Paulson's character Dr. Ellie Staple introducing herself to David, Elijah, and Kevin — all people who believe they are superheroes. They are in an institution, all together under one roof.
"The three of you have convinced yourselves that you have extraordinary gifts, like something out of a comic book," Dr. Staple tells the trio as reported by EW.
Elijah, who calls himself Mr. Glass, fosters a partnership with Kevin, whose multiple personalities include a terrifying creature called The Beast.
'Unbreakable' And 'Split' Comes Together
In Unbreakable, David led an ordinary life until becoming the sole survivor of a train accident that brought him to the attention of frail Elijah. With the help of the wheelchair-bound comicbook dealer, David discovered his powers and performs heroic acts, eventually realizing that his friend and mentor is behind horrific terrorist events that killed hundreds. The end of the film saw Elijah committed to an institution after David turned him over to the authorities.
"Eighteen years ago, I based a movie around a crazy idea: what if comic books were based on reality?" Shyamalan explains in CinemaCon, according to EW. "And in Unbreakable, I tried to tell the origin story of a superhero that lives in the real world, David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis."
Split focuses on McAvoy's Kevin as he kidnapped three teenagers and kept them in a locked cell. Throughout the film, the three girls repeatedly attempted escape only to be met with Kevin's different personalities. It's also revealed that his physiology changes with each personality, giving him superhuman abilities as The Beast. The end of the film has him disappearing, leaving just one survivor: Taylor-Joy's Casey.
Unbreakable was released back in 2000 with Disney, while Split came in 2016 with Universal. The length of time between the two films fooled audiences into thinking they're unrelated.
Both projects were treated as standalone films with completely separate storylines that only converge at the end of Split with the appearance of Willis's character in a diner.
Glass will continue the story that began 18 years ago.
"What if these real-life supervillains and superheroes are somehow locked up together?" Paulson sums up the conflict in Glass. "I mean, what could go wrong?"
Glass is slated to be released on Jan. 18, 2019.
