M. Night Shyamalan Departs Universal for Warner Bros. First-Look Deal

M. Night Shyamalan Departs Universal for Warner Bros. First-Look Deal,M. Night Shyamalan has found a new studio home. The filmmaker and his Blinding Edge Pictures have inked a first-look deal with Warner Bros.

M. Night Shyamalan Departs Universal for Warner Bros. First-Look Deal

M. Night ShyamalanDave J Hogan/Getty Images

Logo textAfter a long stint at Universal that helped reinvigorate his career, M. Night Shyamalan has found a new studio home. The filmmaker and his Blinding Edge Pictures have inked a multi-year, first-look deal with Warner Bros.

The studio has already set a date for his next feature, Trap, which will open Aug. 2, 2024.

Under the deal, Shyamalan will develop projects for Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line, which recently acquired The Watchers. He will produce the feature that is to be written and directed by his middle daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.

Shyamalan reinvented himself with his work at Universal, which distributed The Visit, the 2015 found-footage horror film that earned $98 million on a $5 million budget. It was the start of a fruitful relationship for the studio and the filmmaker, who had entered a fallow period after a series of big budget bombs, including The Last Airbender and After Earth.

He followed up The Visit with Split (2017), Glass (2019), Old (2022) and his most recent, Knock at the Cabin. The filmmaker self-financed his own projects at Universal, and was known for his work with producer Jason Blum.

Shyamalan became a name-brand filmmaker with Disney’s The Sixth Sense, the 1999 Bruce Willis feature with one of the more famous twist endings in cinema history and which landed him Oscar nominations for best screenplay and best director. He followed that up with a steady stream of films that for a time gave him a reputation as a twist-endings filmmaker: Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002) and The Village (2004). In total, his films have grossed $3 billion globally.

“Night is one of the most iconic and influential directors of his generation and an auteur in every sense of the word,” Warner Bros. Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy said jointly. “From The Sixth Sense through Split to his latest chiller Knock at the Cabin, he’s one of the few directors in contemporary cinema whose name alone promises a bold, singular vision, compelling original storytelling and a provocative, surprising and entirely unique experience at the theater. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him to the Warner Bros. family, and look forward to an exciting collaboration with Night and the entire Blinding Edge team.”

“Where I write and direct is my home,” says Shyamalan. “Disney and Universal, where I’ve made most of my films, will always be home and family to me. Warner Bros. has a storied history of cinema. Through its recent experiences, the company has rediscovered its love and appreciation for filmmakers, and the impact of the theatrical experience. We all win when movies succeed in theaters. I believe David Zaslav, Michael De Luca, and Pam Abdy have dedicated themselves to unique filmmakers, and to filling theaters all around the world for years to come.”

President of production Ashwin Rajan runs Blinding Edge Pictures, based in Philadelphia. Shyamalan is repped by Range Media Partners and Johnson Shapiro.