M. Night Shyamalan’s next film is a “supernatural romantic thriller” starring Jake Gyllenhaal that’s been co-created with The Notebook’s Nicholas Sparks

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Deadline shared the news , also revealing the story was co-created by Shyamalan himself and best-selling novelist Nicholas Sparks, who you might know as the guy behind The Notebook (1996).

When we hear “supernatural romantic thriller,” it’s not strange to think about the 2018 Best Picture winner The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro. It remains to be seen whether this will lean on a darker, more grounded tone or feel a bit fable-like, like Shyamalan’s own Lady in the Water (2006), which wasn’t well-received at all when it first came out.

Regardless, it’s good to see a high-profile director knocking out big-screen projects that turn a profit consistently. Old, Knock at the Cabin, and Trap have represented a ‘return to form’ of sorts for the filmmaker even if all of them have caused division among critics and moviegoers. At the very least, they’re self-contained ‘high concept’ flicks that don’t feel like a slog and run on healthy doses of originality that we don’t see much of these days in wide releases.

Considering how fast Shyamalan moves on his ideas and productions, we should expect this new movie to start shooting at some point this year and target a 2026 release. Warner Bros. is currently in talks to handle distribution.