Two years ago, M. Night Shyamalan released “Trap,” which was met with mixed reviews.
Shyamalan doesn’t really get great reviews anymore, at least he hasn’t gotten ultra-positive ink since his “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” days of yore. “Split” was an outlier in 2016. That’s about it. Yet, he remains one of the more interesting, and most distinct major studio filmmakers. Hell, even the grouchy folks over at Cahiers du Cinéma love him—they raved about his last few, especially “Split,” “Old,” “Glass,” “The Visit,” and “Trap.” Quite honestly, as flawed as some of those films might have been, they still had interesting parts to them — some worked better than others.
This is to say, Shyamalan has a new movie coming. Warner Bros. decided to delay “Remain,” which was initially supposed to be released in October 2026. A Valentine’s Day 2027 corridor now awaits the film—based on a story Shyamalan concocted with Nicholas Sparks.
A teaser trailer has been released, and it looks intriguing and beautiful; Shyamalan is working with a new DP on this one, Adolpho Veloso—who shot the acclaimed “Train Dreams”—is billed as the cinematographer.
Shyamalan recently implied the release delay was due to the commercial potential of “Remain.” The writer-director took the stage at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation in May and even went a step further, proclaiming this next one the “highest-testing movie of my career.”
That’s fairly impressive, if true, considering Shyamalan’s track record includes major box-office hits like “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs.” Then again, strong test-screening reactions don’t always translate to mainstream success—their reliability has been inconsistent over the years.
With “Remain,” Shyamalan is teaming up with Sparks, the sultan of sentimental tearjerkers, for a film and novel. Sparks wrote the book, which dropped last fall, while Shyamalan was simultaneously whipping up the screenplay.
The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor. No official plot details were revealed in today’s announcement, but if Shyamalan is faithful to the book, this will be a haunted love story inspired by Hitchcock romances.
“Remain” follows Tate Donovan, played by Gyllenhaal, a New York architect trying to rebuild his life after a psychiatric stay triggered by his sister’s death. Seeking a fresh start, he heads to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend. But things don’t go as planned—especially after he meets Wren, a mysterious young woman who upends his orderly, logic-driven world.
“Remain” hits theaters February 5, 2027.
Will Academy voters feel the same way? Directors tend to respect directors who swing big, and having Villeneuve publicly champion your film doesn't hurt.