M. Night Shyamalan Wants To Make Unbreakable 2

M. Night Shyamalan, director of the low-key superhero film Unbreakable, is still interested in directing a sequel, nearly 15 years after the original’s release.

“I love those characters and I love that world,” Shyamalan tells Collider, before expounding on how Hollywood’s attitude toward comic books and superheroes has changed over the years. “Of course, the whole world makes comic book movies now.  At the time, it was completely novel.  I remember when I made it, Disney was literally like, ‘Comic books?!  There’s no market for comic books!’  That’s all they make now!  It was a hilarious conversation.  I remember it.  I was like, ‘Maybe you’re right.  Maybe nobody will come see comic book movies.’  They were like, ‘Those are people in little conventions who like comic books.’  And I was like, ‘But, I like comic books!’

“But the beauty of the world of Unbreakable is that you’re playing it for reality,” he continued. “It should never feel like a comic book movie.  It feels like a straight-up drama.  It’s real.  You’re confronting the possibility that comic book characters were based on people that were real.  That’s the premise, so the tone has to be super grounded.  It would be cool.”

Unbreakable was released in 2000 and starred Samuel L. Jackson as a man with a fragile body who was obsessed with comic books and the idea that people with superhuman abilities must exist in the real world. He finds one such person, played by Bruce Willis.