M. Night Shyamalan Shares Cryptic First Look at His Next Movie
M. Night Shyamalan is never far from his next idea. The director built his reputation on twist-driven thrillers like ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Signs’, and he rarely lets much time pass between projects. That habit makes any update on what he’s working on worth watching.
Right now, his attention is split between the past and the near future. His supernatural romance ‘Remain’, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor, was moved from October 23, 2026 to February 5, 2027. It received a surprise screening at Beyond Fest on September 29 before a retrospective showing of ‘The Sixth Sense’, and Shyamalan has called it the highest-testing movie of his career.
Now there’s news about what comes after. In a video shared by CoveredGeekly, Shyamalan says he has already started working on his next movie, and that it’s an idea he has carried for many, many years. The clip shows him sitting outdoors with a notebook in hand, which fits the way he has long described his process.
Shyamalan has been open about how each film begins. In a September 2024 Instagram post, he showed off a bright red notebook and explained that he picks a notebook for every movie and fills it with notes and ideas. When it’s overflowing, he moves on to an outline and then the script.
He has also described how long the process takes. Speaking to Collider in 2023, he said that writing a script takes him six to nine months, followed by three months of storyboarding. Then come pre-production, shooting, and an edit that he stretches for as long as he can get. In that same interview, he said he had structured ideas for three movies at once, which shows how many projects he keeps in motion.
For now, details are scarce. No title, plot, cast, or release date for the new movie has been announced publicly, so all we have is Shyamalan’s word that the idea has been with him for years. Given his history of keeping plots secret until close to release, that silence isn’t surprising.
What we do know about ‘Remain’ offers some context. The film grew out of a story he developed with author Nicholas Sparks, who wrote a novel version that became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Shyamalan and Sparks independently wrote a screenplay and a novel from the same love story, and the first teaser arrived in September.
M. Night Shyamalan says he’s started working on his next movie "I’ve had the idea for a long time… many, many years" https://t.co/LfJkoIi8Ah
— CoveredGeekly (@CoveredGeekly) October 20, 2026
The director is also in a reflective phase. Beyond Fest dedicated a 12-film retrospective to his career, with Shyamalan attending screenings and Q&As. He has also launched a ‘Night Diaries’ series on his YouTube channel, where the first episode saw him reading his production diary from the making of ‘Signs’ for the first time in about 25 years.
That mix of looking back while quietly planning ahead suits a filmmaker who has spent decades balancing big swings with personal projects. It also hints that the next film may be something he has wanted to make for a long time, rather than a quick follow-up to ‘Remain’.
For fans, the takeaway is simple: Shyamalan is writing again, and the notebook is open. Whether this long-gestating idea turns out to be a return to his twist-heavy roots or something entirely new, the wait for details is likely to be part of the fun.
What kind of movie would you most like to see M. Night Shyamalan make next?
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