Universal has announced thatM. Night Shyamalan’s next movie, which in appropriate fashion, remains a complete mystery, will hit theaters on August 04, 2025. Hopefully, there will be a COVID-19 vaccine of some kind by then, and we will all be able to enjoy this genre film together.
Shyamalan’s new film does not have a title, and plot details have yet to leak. To maintain creative control, the writer-director finances his own movies, which are often both low-budget and extremely profitable. For example,Glass,SplitandThe Visitcost roughly $35 million combined, and together they grossed more than $600 million worldwide. Universal will release the movie, though it remains unclear when shooting will actually begin, given current restrictions amid the pandemic, which is wreaking havoc on production schedules.
All we know at this point is the cast, andVarietyreports thatKen Leung(Lost),Abbey Lee(Mad Max: Fury Road) andNikki Amuka-Bird(Avenue 5) have joined the ensemble cast, which includesThomasin McKenzie,Alex Wolff,Eliza Scanlen,Aaron Pierre, andPhantom ThreadbreakoutVicky Krieps.
I’ve seen Amuka-Bird in films likeThe LaundromatandA Private Warbut I didn’t watchAvenue 5and haven’t seen her work in The Personal History of David Copperfieldyet. Lee I remember as one of the Five Wives inMad Max: Fury Road, as well asNicolas Winding Refn’sThe Neon Demon. She’ll soon be seen in HBO’sLovecraft Country, which I can’t wait to see.
But what really excites me is the casting of Leung, who starred inSpike Lee’s 2004 TV movieSucker Free City, where I was first introduced to both him andAnthony Mackie. It is, honest to God, one of Lee’s best movies. Leung went on to play Miles onLost, and guest star on HBO shows likeThe SopranosandHigh Maintenance. Besides Lee, the actor has worked with directors such asSteven Spielberg,Tony Scott,James WanandNoah Baumbach, and his most recent feature credit saw him playing Admiral Statura inJ.J. Abrams’Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Shyamalan promised that his next three films are going to be “weird and dark,” and for more from the maestro himself,click here.
