Unbreakable (film series)

The Unbreakable film series, also referred to as the Eastrail 177 Trilogy,^[1] is an American superhero thriller and psychological horror film series,^[2] involving the derailment of the fictitious Eastrail #177 train. The films were written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The trilogy consists of Unbreakable (2000), Split (2016), and Glass (2019).

All of the films feature the character David Dunn, and multiple characters have a connection to the Eastrail 177 train disaster featured in the first movie. The series has been noted for its differences to more traditional superhero movies, with Shyamalan's work referred to as "the first auteur shared superhero universe". It is the first superhero franchise that is written and directed by one person, in comparison to other popular films in the genre.^[3] Shyamalan has noted that while it is based on comic book superheroes, and refers to comic books, it is not actually derived from comic book material itself.^[4] In contrast to most superhero films, the series is also generally grounded in reality,^[5] and is seen as a deconstruction of the superhero genre.^[6] The series is thus considered to be a unique take on the superhero genre.^[7]

The filmmaker has stated that the films are origin stories, of people with unique gifts, with the intent being to acknowledge that every person has something special about them. Split has been called the first solo supervillain story.^[8] Writers and fans also referred to the series as the "Eastrail 177 trilogy", because, as noted, all three main characters were connected to the train in some important way.^[1]

Development

The series originated with the film Unbreakable, directed by Shyamalan and released in 2000. When M. Night Shyamalan conceived the idea for Unbreakable, the outline had a comic book's traditional three-part structure (the superhero's "birth", his struggles against general evil-doers, and the hero's ultimate battle against the "archenemy"). Finding the birth section most interesting, he decided to write Unbreakable as an origin story.^[9] At the time, comic book themed superhero films were niche, so the film was marketed as a psychological thriller like Shyamalan's breakout film The Sixth Sense, rather than as a superhero film. According to Shyamalan, "I was on a conference call with the studio, and they were saying we can’t mention the word ‘comic books’ or ‘superheroes’ because it’s too fringe".^[10]

Upon release in 2000, Bruce Willis revealed that Unbreakable was the first part of a planned trilogy.^[11] Both Willis and Samuel L. Jackson pushed for a sequel or trilogy, with Willis stating "It's really built as a trilogy," but Shyamalan expressed uncertainty and said, "I can’t tell you anything about them." Whether the film had a sequel depended upon how it would perform at the box office.^[12] While Unbreakable was a moderate box office success, grossing $248 million worldwide on a $75 million budget,^[13] it performed below expectations, earning about a third of what The Sixth Sense grossed.^[10] However, Unbreakable gained more popularity over time and subsequently gained a strong cult following,^[14] as the audience for comic book superhero films grew over time.^[10] Out of Shyamalan's career, some have referred to Unbreakable as his best work. In terms of superhero films, it was listed in Time's list of "Top 10 Superhero Films" of all time, ranked at number four.^[15] Quentin Tarantino also included Unbreakable on his list of top 20 films released since 1992.^[16]

The second film Split originated from the character of Kevin who had been in one of the early drafts of Unbreakable, but Shyamalan had pulled the character out, stating there were balancing issues at that time. With Split, he brought in some of the scenes he had written for Unbreakable around Kevin.^[17] Split became a box office success, with over 2,000% return on investment (ROI), making it the most profitable film of 2017,^[18] paving the way for a third film.^[19] While the director Shyamalan himself has stated that he's usually not a fan of making sequels,^[20] the two stars of the series, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson had asked him to consider making a sequel. Shyamalan has said he plans on a trilogy of three films, with the third film Glass planned to be release in 2019, but he may continue making more if the inspiration for writing the material is there.^[20]

Films

Future

Although the series is currently slated as a trilogy, Shyamalan mentioned that he would be open to a continuation if the inspiration came to him.^[20]

Themes

While the three movies are superhero films, in that unrealistic "super" powers are featured, Shyamalan notes that one of the main themes of the movies is that there are extraordinary powers in everyone.^[20] He also notes that rather than being a "comic book movie" each of them is a movie about comic books.^[20] While the movies are connected, each has a separate style. Unbreakable is a mystery film, regarding a man who is the sole survivor of a catastrophic train crash. Split is a horror movie, exploring the origin story of a supervillain, while Shyamalan has stated that Glass will be a different thematic feel as well.^[20] Producer Jason Blum has referred to them as "superhero movies", noting that they are very different from Marvel Studios' films.^[2]

Cast and crew

Reception

References

External links

• Unbreakable on IMDb
• Split on IMDb
• Official Split website
• Glass on IMDb