An Oral History of “Glass”: M. Night Shyamalan, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, and James McAvoy

When M. Night Shyamalan delivered what might have been his biggest twist yet – that ‘Split’ was set in the same universe as superhero movie ‘Unbreakable’ – fans went wild; when it was revealed he was making a following it up with a film that would bring David Dunn (Bruce Willis), Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), and the villainous Elijah Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) together, they basically lost their s—t. ‘Glass’ sees the three “enhanced” humans thrown together in a psychiatric hospital, their treatment overseen by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah McAvoy); as the title suggests, it’s Mr. Glass who gets the film’s chaos started. In this oral history of the highly anticipated project, Shyamalan and the cast recall how the success of ‘Split’ and ‘Unbreakable’ led to ‘Glass,’ what it was like to reunite on set (for some) and work with new faces (for others), and what fans can expect when the heroes and villains assemble. For Shyamalan, who made ‘Unbreakable’ at a time when superhero movies were out of favor, returning to the genre at a time when it dominates pop culture, was a challenge – and a thrill.