Jake Gyllenhaal teaming up with M. Night Shyamalan makes sense. Gyllenhaal joining a movie from Shyamalan and the author of The Notebook is one of the most surprising stories of the day.
Per Deadline, Gyllenhaal is set to star in a supernatural romantic thriller based on an original story by Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks. Shyamalan and Sparks will write a screenplay and a novel, respectively, inspired by the same original idea. The movie and novel will be adapted to fit their respective mediums. However, each project will be based on the same characters and ideas.
The InSneider first reported the news of Gyllenhaal’s involvement with Shyamalan, who will also direct.
Warner Bros. is in negotiations to distribute the romantic thriller in theaters. Shyamalan’s Blinding Edge Pictures will produce the film. Executive producers include Shyamalan, Sparks, Ashwin Rajan, Theresa Park, and Marc Bienstock.
Gyllenhaal is preparing to star alongside Denzel Washington in William Shakespeare’s Othello, which opens next month on Broadway. In 2024, Gyllenhaal starred in Prime Video’s reimagining of Road House, the 1980s action movie starring Patrick Swayze, and Presumed Innocent, the Apple TV+ legal thriller based on Scott Turow’s 1987 novel of the same name.
Since the success of 2019’s Split, Shyamalan has remained extremely active. The Oscar nominee wrote and directed 2021’s Old, 2023’s Knock at the Cabin, and 2024’s Trap. In addition to his film work, Shyamalan was the showrunner and executive producer of Servant, the Apple TV+ horror series that lasted four seasons from 2019 to 2023.
Sparks is one of the most successful novelists in Hollywood. 11 of his books have been adapted into feature films, including 2002’s A Walk to Remember, 2004’s The Notebook, 2010’s Dear John, and 2012’s The Lucky One. Sparks’ latest novel, Counting Miracles, became a New York Times best-seller and will be adapted into a film by Amazon.
