Universal has announced release dates for a pair of new original thrillers written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense and Signs filmmaker — whose past directorial projects have been distributed by Disney, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and Sony — most recently teamed with Universal on the Blumhouse-backed horror-comedy The Visit in 2015 before independently financing Unbreakable followups Split and Glass for the studio. Those small-cost hits, reportedly budgeted at a respective $9 million and $20 million, won Universal $278 million and $246 million at the worldwide box office.
In an announcement (via Deadline), Universal revealed it has scheduled new Shyamalan thrillers to hit theaters on February 26, 2021 and February 17, 2023. Universal President Peter Cramer issued a statement about the news, calling Shyamalan a “master filmmaker working at the height of his powers” and saying the studio is “honored” that he’s chosen Universal to be the home for his next two movies. Shyamalan returned the compliment in his own statement:
“There are wonderful studios out there, but Universal has made it a mandate to release original films. They are the best at finding an audience for new stories with unexpected tones. I believe original films are crucial to the longevity of the theatrical experience. I am so excited to be working with them again and bringing new stories to the movie screen for years to come.”
Shyamalan is awaiting release on Servant, a new 10-episode, half-hour psychological thriller series that will debut on the upcoming streaming service AppleTV+. In addition to executive producing the series, Shyamalan directed two episodes, including the pilot.
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