M. Night Shyamalan‘s forthcoming Remain is the highest-testing film of his career, the writer-director noted at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation, per THR.
In theaters February 5, 2027, Shyamalan co-created the supernatural romance thriller with bestselling author Nicholas Sparks — who published his Remain novel this past October.
“My new movie began with a conversation, an unexpected one, with a celebrated author, Nicholas Sparks,” Shyamalan explained. “He sold more than 130 million books worldwide and wrote one of the most iconic love stories ever, The Notebook. Romance is his territory. Mine’s a little different. I’m drawn to suspense, to twists and tension and stories that leave you just a little unsettled long after they are over. That feels like home to me.”
Shyamalan continued, “We started from nothing, just a couple of questions: What scares you? What moves you? What stays with you? We challenged each other. We traded ideas and slowly wove two very different perspectives into a single, thrilling, supernatural love story. In the end, we get to tell it our own way; mine through film, Nicholas through his novel.”
He clarified, “The novel is not a novelization, and the film is not an adaptation. It’s two storytellers telling the story of Remain in their own way. Together, we created the story of recluse architect Tate Gordon, who moves to a small coastal town to complete his latest project when he encounters a beguiling young woman who pulls him out of his shell and into the center of a deadly mystery that hangs over this town.”
Shyamalan added, “It’s my highest-testing movie of my career. We’re now in post-production, finding every detail. Honestly, my hope is that when you experience Remain, you feel both sides of it at once — full of love and that quiet, lingering unease that doesn’t let you go.”
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a grieving architect who moves to Cape Cod for work after leaving a psychiatric facility. While staying at a historic B&B, he meets a mysterious woman, played by Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”), who makes him question his rational beliefs about life and loss.
Ashley Walters (“Adolescence”), Julie Hagerty (Airplane), Jay O. Sanders (Along Came a Spider), Tracy Ifeachor (“The Pitt”), Hannah James (“Mercy Street”), Caleb Ruminer (“Finding Carter”), Kieran Mulcare (“Jessica Jones”), Maria Dizzia (“Orange is the New Black”), and Shyamalan round out the cast.
Shyamalan produces with Ashwin Rajan for Blinding Edge Pictures alongside Sparks’ longtime producing partner Theresa Park and Marc Bienstock. Sparks serves as executive producer.