Even for a director known for twist endings, the final reveal of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split was a doozy: That it was actually the second installment in a trilogy begun 17 years earlier with Unbreakable. Given Split’s critical and commercial success, a third installment was inevitable, and Entertainment Weekly has just published the first glimpses. They seem to center on a rehabilitation facility, where newcomer Sarah Paulson plays a psychiatrist who specializes in treating people who think they’re superheroes. They’re shot in a bright pink, almost Wes Anderson-esque room, hinting at a move away from the somber color palettes of the previous two films. (Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass character is also decked out in outrageous purple hues.) Other images show Anya Taylor-Joy and Bruce Willis reprising their roles from the earlier films.
Accompanying the pics are a couple of choice quotes from McAvoy. In addition to revealing that the movie explores additional personalities within his Split character, he details the story of how he found out about the movie’s placement within the larger Shyamalan canon:
“We were chatting and he said, ‘Well, maybe if this one does well, we’ll do another one,’ ” McAvoy told EW in a recent interview. “I was like, ‘Really? We’re going to do a sequel to Split?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, you know, bring back David and all that.’ And I was like, David?” The filmmaker meant Bruce Willis’ David Dunn, the workingman superhero of Unbreakable. That’s when McAvoy knew: “Oh, wait a minute…”
The movie is set to come out January 18, 2019. Begin speculating now about Paulson’s superpower.