M. Night Shyamalan has never exactly stopped making movies, but his recent work has existed in the shadow of the films that made him one of Hollywood’s most recognizable filmmakers.
The director followed The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs with a string of increasingly divisive projects, and even his more recent thrillers have struggled to reach the same cultural heights. Old was an intriguing but uneven high-concept thriller, Knock at the Cabin earned a stronger critical response but remained relatively modest at the box office, and 2024’s Trap was another deliberately strange Shyamalan experiment that split audiences.
Now, though, there’s something new brewing for early next year that looks like it could bring Shyamalan back to some very familiar territory: supernatural mysteries, romance, and eerie small-town secrets.
That movie is Remain, a rather unusual collaboration between Shyamalan and prolific romance novelist Nicholas Sparks, the author behind The Notebook. With the first teaser trailer now here, the movie is beginning to look like a particularly intriguing return to the kind of supernatural storytelling that made Shyamalan a household name.
Rather than being a straightforward adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, the project began with an original story developed by Sparks and Shyamalan together. Sparks subsequently wrote the novel version, while Shyamalan wrote the screenplay and directed the film.
In other words, the book came first, but it wasn’t really a case of Hollywood simply purchasing a bestselling novel and turning it into a movie.
What is Remain about?
Remain stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Tate Gordon, a reclusive architect who arrives in a small coastal town to work on his latest project. There, he meets Wren, played by Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton), an alluring young woman who draws him out of his shell. The two quickly form a connection, with the teaser showing them playing board games, spending time together, and falling in love. But this isn’t exactly a straightforward romance.
Wren’s seemingly idyllic life hides a much darker reality, and Tate soon finds himself caught up in a mystery hanging over the town. The trailer eventually shifts from romance into something considerably more unsettling, teasing a secret that threatens to pull the couple into a supernatural nightmare.
The movie is being billed as a supernatural romance, but there’s also a mystery at its center. This is very much the sort of story where audiences are likely to spend the first half wondering what, exactly, they’re watching before Shyamalan starts pulling the curtain back.
The Remain book received mixed reviews
The novel version of Remain arrived in 2025, giving readers an early look at the story that would eventually make its way to the big screen. Reviews were mixed, with most praising the book’s atmospheric blend of romance, mystery, and supernatural horror while criticizing its rushed romance and predictable mystery. The result is essentially The Notebook meets The Sixth Sense — a fitting combination for a project that brings Sparks’ emotional storytelling together with Shyamalan’s supernatural sensibilities.
That unusual mix may ultimately be what makes Remain so intriguing. It’s a love story with a ghostly mystery underneath, while its supernatural elements are rooted in themes of grief, loss, and human connection. Judging by the first teaser, Shyamalan is leaning into that combination, giving him an opportunity to return to the kind of mysterious, supernatural storytelling that defined some of his biggest hits.
Remain arrives in theaters across North America on Feb. 5, 2027, with its international release beginning Feb. 3.
