Night Shyamalan’s new movie Split is now in theaters, and as with so many of the director’s films, there are plenty of twists and big reveals that change the shape of the story, and our perception of it.
With Split, there has been particular secrecy about the film’s ending. It’s understandable, given the stakes established in the film: young Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) and two other girls from her school are abducted by a mysterious man (James McAvoy) who begins to exhibit multiple, sometimes conflicting, personalities. As the girls learn, they only have hours before one the man’s most powerful personalities, “The Beast,” will finally manifest and slaughter them.
Videos by PopCulture.com
So how does it all end? And what was the bombshell “Shyamalan Twist” of Split’s final scene? It’s such a MASSIVE SPOILER that we’ve hidden it safe on the next page! DO NOT READ ON if you do not want to be spoiled!
NEXT: Split’s Big Ending Reveal…
The Shyamalan Twist Ending
The Reveal: Split’s big ending reveal is that it’s a story set within the same universe as Shyamalan’s hit 2000 film, Unbreakable!
What Happens: The final scenes of Split see Kevin/Dennis/Patricia/Hedwig/The Beast still on the loose after consuming young teen girls Claire and Marcia and killing his therapist Dr. Fletcher – yet sparing abuse victim Casey Cooke. Dennis/Patricia/Hedwig (now known as “Horde”) is marveling at the Beast persona’s superhuman power, and vows to show the world what it can do.
…Meanwhile, as news reports spread word of this veritable new supervillain out in the world, we come to a remote diner, where people are listening to the tragic story. Two patrons are overheard discussing how this case reminds them of the man in the wheelchair who was terrorizing the city years ago, and they wonder aloud what his name was.
That’s when none other than Bruce Willis’s Unbreakable character David Dunn leans forward at the end of the counter, whispering, “They called him ‘Mr. Glass,’” with a look of concern and new purpose in his eyes.
What It Means: This reveal does fundamentally reframe the events and themes of Split. While at first thinking we’re seeing a standard thriller, it’s clear afterward that the storylines between Casey, Kevin, and Dr. Fletcher are continuing themes from Unbreakable about human potential, and how significant trauma affects that potential. However, whereas Unbreakable is a meditative story of a superhero’s rise, Split is the darker origin story of a supervillain – with darker character arcs and themes to go with it.
What It Means for the Future
Behind-the-scenes, there’s not (yet) been an official announcement about Unbreakable 2 going into production; however, in terms of the larger storyline to this emerging “Shyamalan Movie Universe” there is meaning to take from what we see at the end of Split.
For one thing, there’s the state of David Dunn. He seems alone, yet is in a workman’s uniform (almost like a mechanic or gas station attendant), and still seems quiet and sullen. The immediate conclusion is that time hasn’t been necessarily kind to David, which is a starting point that M. Night can take in many great directions (did heroism wear him down? Cost him his family after all? Etc…).
In any case, the determined look in David’s eye upon hearing that Horde exists and is on the loose suggests that Mr. Dunn’s vigilante hero days may not be done…
Finally, one motif of Split was that The Beast’s manifestation was part of a larger flashpoint in humanity, where human potential is being onlocked, via the trials and traumas the world inflicts. With “Mr. Glass,” and now “Horde,” one wonders what other Shyamalan villains David Dunn may have to face; or what other extraordinary allies are out there to aid him…
