M. Night Shyamalan Talks Split Deleted Scenes and Three-Hour Cut

M. Night Shyamalan has added yet another hit thriller to his comeback lineup, with his latest […]

September 5, 2017, 9:22pm

M. Night Shyamalan has added yet another hit thriller to his comeback lineup, with his latest film, Split, having topped the weekend box office. Thanks to some major twists, viewers are buzzing about Split‘s ending reveal, and the possibilities it creates for the future. That’s generating interest in the film itself – and there is some great behind-the-scenes details that Shyamalan has been dropping in interviews.

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For fans who like the more technical aspect of movies, there’s some nice trivia to know: Shyamalan revealed that there’s a lot more of Split to see.

Speaking with Collider, M. Night Shyamalan discussed the process (or “puzzle”) of making a film, and revealed that Split was originally a lot longer, and slower:

“That original cut of ‘Split’ was three hours long. It was in New York, we had the screening – and you know, part of me misses those cuts, they’re the quiet, long, versions of the movie. But then you get to know where the love is, where they [the audience] want the movie to go.”

When asked if fans could one day see the full three-hour cut of the film, Shyamalan took something of a middleground stance on the matter:

“Look, this is my director’s cut, this is my cut. I understand why everything is in and out of the movie, and really it’s the final rewrite, right: What does the movie want to be? I totally understand why like twenty-five minutes of the movie comes out; why [a] character comes out; why it didn’t fit in. I do like to show you some of the scenes on the Blu-ray and talk about why, storytelling wise, they didn’t work; why structure wise, they didn’t work. Because I find it kind of fascinating.”

Ironically, Split‘s critics already argue that the film is too slowly-paced and ventures into too many side-stories and characters; Shyamalan actually states later on in the interview that those two issues were what he originally cut out of the three-hour version. In other words: Maybe it’s material best left on the cutting room floor.