Surprise! M. Night Shyamalan’s newest horror film has started filming on September 26, 2020. To mark the occasion, the filmmaker, best known for horror-thrillers with his signature twist ending including The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and The Village, announced the name of the film, Old, along with the full poster Saturday on Twitter.
Old is based on a graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters and is the first movie in a partnership between Shyamalan and Universal Studios, in which the filmmaker is to write, produce, and direct two thrillers. The ensemble cast includes Gael Garcia Bernal, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff, Vicky Krieps, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Rufus Sewell, Embeth Davidtz, and Emun Elliott.
The film was supposed to release February 26, 2021, but was pushed back to July 23, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The topic of aging isn’t one M. Night Shyamalan has shied away from in the past. In 2015, Shyamalan’s found footage horror-comedy, The Visit, was released. It follows a teenage girl and her younger brother who visit their estranged grandparents, who they’d never met. The grandparents’ increasingly disturbing behavior made for a terrifying experience, and was noted by a small but vocal audience segment who found the film’s use of deranged old folks as a little ageist. We’ll have to wait and see how Shyamalan handles the subject matter in Old, which is based on a story that Shyamalan didn’t conceive.
Old will be released on July 23, 2021. Check out the full poster here:
