Split dominated the box office this past weekend and everyone is talking about THAT ending. Where the sequel could go is very exciting. We here at Fandom are brainstorming what’s next for this potential series. Naturally, SPOILERS are going to be discussed! Do not read if you haven’t seen Split!
Travis Newton on Split, Shyamalan, and Scale
When watching Split, it’s fairly apparent that M. Night Shyamalan’s top priority was to make a good thriller. Nothing in the movie seems to indicate that it’s building to anything outside of the film’s own borders. But when Bruce Willis appears in Split‘s final moments, the truth comes out. Shyamalan wasn’t just building a stand-alone story. He was also building a bridge to Unbreakable. And now, Shyamalan plans to continue this saga with another film. But where will it go?
If we’re going to see super-strong David Dunn (Willis) take on The Horde (James McAvoy) in a sequel, we have to reckon with a few facts. First and foremost, Shyamalan and scale don’t mix. The bigger his movies get, the dumber they tend to be. The filmmaker is at his best when he’s dealing with small stories. The second thing we must keep in mind is that Shyamalan self-financed Split. This allowed him to make the thriller he wanted, and his gamble paid off. But if this next movie is going to feature two or more “superhumans” going head-to-head, it could be a more expensive film to make. It might not be the surprisingly dark indie thriller we all just saw. Whatever happens, I hope the top priority isn’t to make a grand sequel. Priority one should be: Make a good thriller.
Eric Fuchs on Why This Should Be All We Get
I’ll give Shyamalan this: Almost 20 years after The Sixth Sense, he’s finally made a twist ending that left me gasping for breath. “What. WHAT? WHATTT???”, is a summary of my reaction with a few hundred exclamation marks left out for brevity.
The problem? I was the only person who knew what was going on. I had to help out random strangers. “Yeah, this is a tie-in with Unbreakable. Remember Unbreakable? Bruce Willis? Samuel L. Jackson? He was a superhero?” No recognition. Unbreakable is a cult classic and probably Shyamalan’s best film. But, Unbreakable is a long forgotten movie for the average viewer. Is that a strong foundation for a shared superhero universe?
And honestly, do we really want this? Shyamalan is a director of mood and pacing. He’s not done well with action, and that would be required with a David Dunn vs. The Beast movie. Willis hasn’t seemed like he’s cared about a role in a decade. Do we want a visit with Mr. Glass behind bars like he’s Hannibal Lecter? The movie simply requires bigness, not the small casts and claustrophobia that Shyamalan does best.
I’m fine with just a tease. It’s a great gag. But this movie is best off not-made.
Drew Dietsch on the Sacredness of Trilogies
As soon as the ending of Split was revealed, people everywhere were buzzing about a potential shared universe that would expand outward from Unbreakable. It’s a telling feature of our modern movie culture that this is the conclusion so many fans immediately jumped to. Expanded universes dominate the cinematic landscape. Whatever happened to a good ol’ fashioned sequel? Even more than that, why don’t we put value in trilogies anymore? The trilogy used to be an almost holy construct. Now, it’s been chipped away thanks to lackluster trilogies and the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The ending of Split teases something interesting: a confrontation between David Dunn and The Horde. It doesn’t have to go any further than that. The antagonist in Unbreakable was supposed to be The Horde according to Shyamalan. Why not fulfill that promise and close out that universe forever? It would be great to have a strong trilogy of grounded superhero/supervillain movies from Shyamalan. Unbreakable and Split are solid films that stand on their own. If the series could have a definitive ending with one final entry, we could re-learn how valuable a damn good trilogy is to the film world.
Where do you think the ending of Split could (or even should) lead? Tweet @getfandom and let us know!
