M Night Shyamalan is a pretty hit-and-miss director, from the masterpiece that was The Sixth Sense to the utterly disastrous live-action adaption of beloved cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. In 2016, his psychological thriller Split took on the interesting premise of a Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)-riddled main protagonist with 23 different personalities, who kidnaps and imprisons three teenage girls in an isolated underground facility.
While it certainly was a brave leap of faith into unfamiliar territory, the movie was controversial for its portrayal of individuals with the condition.
The end of the movie also revealed that Split takes place in the same universe as Unbreakable, one of his earlier hits. And now, he’s wrapping up the story with a third-parter, Glass. With Glass, there’s a chance for Shyamalan to set things right and truly deliver what he claims to be the “first truly grounded comic book movie”.
If anything, however, it seems the publicity materials and first look photos are doing a good job at keeping up the intrigue. Following a recent, mind-boggling poster reveal, Entertainment Weekly has unveiled the first stills for the movie, and they are all looking pretty artsy…well, except for one.
In what seems to be a buildup from the poster design, the first one brings the oddball trio of Mr Glass (Samuel L Jackson), Kevin (James McAvoy), and David (Bruce Willis) into the confines of an institution, with the same hue of pink in the background, where they are all looking mighty unhappy.
The next image shows Sarah Paulson all geared up as the psychiatrist tasked with treating these three men – nothing quite out-of-the-ordinary, but it does highlight the character’s exasperation and frustration while on the job.
Last, and definitely not the least, Jackson is seen to be wearing a gaudy, reflective purple-blue suit that looks enviously fabulous on his person, and might otherwise look outrageous on others.
Glass is set to premiere in 2019, and serves as a superhero origin movie of sorts – in which case, the cast of Jackson and McAvoy are more than apt, given how they are both the head honchos of their respective Avengers and X-Men universes.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
A'bidah Zaid
