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Jason Blum Calls Glass a ‘Very Different’ Superhero Movie
Glass will be a “very different” kind of superhero movie, according to producer Jason Blum. The film marks the highly anticipated follow-up to M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, a psychological thriller that closed with a surprise tie-in to 2000’s Unbreakable. The movie, which debuted earlier this year, grossed $276 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $9 million, making it one of Shyamalan’s most successful (and well received) efforts in years.
Glass serves as Split‘s sequel and the third within the Unbreakable universe. It’s not slated to hit theaters until early 2019, but already details have begun to trickle out. Both Bruce Willis and James McAvoy will reprise their roles as David Dunn and Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Beast, respectively. Sarah Paulson has been cast in an undisclosed role, while Samuel L. Jackson will return as Unbreakable‘s Elijah Price and Anya Taylor-Joy as Split‘s Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with the Beast, the most dangerous of Kevin’s 23 personalities. Filming starts later this month.
When asked what he could tease about Glass in recent interview with Collider, Blum explained that while it was certainly fit within the superhero realm, given that both David and the Beast have superhuman qualities, but it won’t be a pure genre movie. He said:
“Of course, it’s a kind of superhero movie, for sure. I do consider it that, yeah. It’s very different. I would say it’s not a Marvel movie, but a superhero movie.”
That doesn’t give much away, but it does make sense. The synopsis teases a confrontation between Dunn and the Beast with the murderous Price tracking them from the shadows, so it sounds like the good vs. evil tension at the heart of most superhero endeavors will be present and accounted for. However, Shyamalan’s best work tends to veer toward the dark, intense, and sometimes terrifying, as seen in Split and Unbreakable as well as titles like The Sixth Sense and The Village. So if he’s going to follow up his most well regarded effort of the last five years, it’s fitting that he’d lean into his strong suit.
It’s also refreshing that, given the recent superhero boom, Glass will offer a new take. Films like Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice have proven that simply leaning into the genre isn’t enough, while breakouts like Deadpool have shown that a fresh perspective can go a long way. There’s a lot riding on Glass, but it sounds like Shyamaln is on the right track.
Glass release date: Jan 18, 2019
