Blockbuster film was released 14 years ago.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Screenwriter, director, and producer M. Night Shyamalan wants to atone for his recent glut of flops, and will revisit the world of one of his most acclaimed films in order to do so.
In an interview with Collider, Shyamalan expressed an unadulterated interest in returning to the universe he created in 2000’s Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.
“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. I remember it. I was like, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe nobody will come see comic book movies.” They were like, “Those are people in little conventions who like comic books.” And I was like, “But, I like comic books!”
When Unbreakable was released more than 14 years ago, comic book movies were barely beginning to establish their post-millennial hold over audiences across the world. While Stephen Norrington’s Blade (1998) and Bryan Singer’s
X-Menadaptation (2000) both hit theatres before Unbreakable, the age of silver screen superheroes had yet to truly blast off. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and Marvel’s record-breaking, multi-tiered cinematic universe were all years away from molding the genre juggernaut we’re familiar with today.
Shyamalan also iterated that his sequel wouldn’t fit the parameters of a modern comic-based film, going so far as to state that he wouldn’t even want
Unbreakable 2 to feel like a comic book movie. Instead, his vision juxtaposes superhuman elements against a realistic, grounded world.
“It feels like a straight-up drama. 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.”
Unbreakable may have been ahead of its time, but it was still a critical and commercial success, managing to gross $248 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million.