In what might be the most unusual M. Night Shyamalan announcement ever, the director has revealed that he’s co-creating and directing a live-action Magic 8 Ball TV series. Yes, that’s right, the classic toy that hands out vague, cryptic answers is being transformed into a psychological thriller by Shyamalan. Sure, I guess, why not?
Shyamalan teased the project on Instagram, posting an image of the script’s cover page with the caption: “Been working on this for a couple years… Who’s in?” Brad Falchuk wrote the screenplay.
Produced by Mattel, I’m guessing the series will take the harmless fortune-telling toy and turn it into something mysterious, and deadly. Will the “Ask again later” suddenly feel like it could carry life-or-death consequences? It’s quite obvious what Shyamalan will be doing with this toy.
This project arrives ahead of Shyamalan’s next feature film, “Remain,” which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor, and is slated for release next October. While “Remain,” co-written with, of all people, Nicolas Sparks, could be uncharted romantic territory for the filmmaker, the Magic 8 Ball series is something we didn’t have on our bingo card.
Of course, I’d rather Shyamalan stick to filmmaking, but he’s no rookie to the small screen either, having previously dipped his toe into television with projects like “Wayward Pines” and “Servant,” the latter which warned strong notices and can be seen on Apple TV+.
Mattel, meanwhile, continues to build its post-“Barbie” empire. In addition to John M. Chu’s upcoming “Hot Wheels,” the toy giant has more than a dozen films in development—“Polly Pocket,” “Barney,” “Bob the Builder,” “Thomas & Friends,” and “UNO” among them—as it tries to spin IP into gold with varying degrees of creative ambition.
