Regardless of what people may think nowadays, M. Night Shyamalan has made some very good movies. "The Sixth Sense" is hands down his best, but 2000s superhero riff "Unbreakable" is a very close second...at least in my book.
Shyamalan is currently promoting his television series "Wayward Pines," on which he serves as both producer and director, and it was while speaking with Collider that he revealed that he still would like to make an "Unbreakable 2." Of course, what helps is the fact that most of the world has gone nuts about comic book movies over the last 15 years or so.
"I love those characters and I love that world. 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," Shyamalan explained.
It's hard to dispute Shyamalan's comments. While Stephen Norrington's "Blade" (which came out in 1998) and Bryan Singer's "X-Men" (which came out in summer 2000) both came before "Unbreakable's" fall 2000 release, it was still a very early time in the modern superhero movie age. It wasn't really until Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" in 2002 that things really started to ramp up then everything truly changed in 2005 with the start of Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" Trilogy, and in 2008 with "Iron Man" and the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things are obviously quite a bit different now than they were back then.
Expounding on his vision for an "Unbreakable 2," Shyamalan made it clear that his film wouldn't exactly be like a "modern" comic book movie (i.e. filled with big set pieces and slam, bang action), mostly because he wouldn't want to betray what was established in the original. In that movie, he established a real, grounded world, and added superhuman elements on top of it...and that's something that he imagines would continue in the sequel. "It ['Unbreakable 2'] feels like a straight-up drama,"Shyamalan clarified. "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."
Despite being a superhero movie in a time before superhero movies ruled the (entertainment) world, "Unbreakable" was a solid box office success, making $248 million on a $75 million budget. While that is all well and good, there is still the question of whether or not anyone would actually let Shyamalan make an "Unbreakable 2" at this point because as I alluded to in the opening, his last few films ("The Last Airbender" and "After Earth" just to name two) have been big-budget bombs.
Still, if he could ever find a way to make "Unbreakable 2," I'd be one of the first in line to see it. For sure. And I have a feeling it would do rather well because I think (and I know that there are many others out there who feel the same way as I do) that a more thoughtful, grounded superhero film is just what the genre needs before it teeters over the edge and falls into the land of the ridiculous and oversaturated.
But, I sincerely doubt those in Hollywood will see it that way...because in Hollywood, money talks and BS runs a marathon. And that's the long and the short of it, kid.
