M Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks are collaborating on a movie and novel, both called Remain, it’s been announced.
In January, it was announced that writer-director M Night Shyamalan and novelist Nicholas Sparks are to collaborate on a somewhat unusual cross-media project. Shyamalan, the story went, will write the screenplay while Sparks will write the novel; little was announced about the venture at the time, though it was reported that Jake Gyllenhaal is to star in Shyamalan’s movie and that both the book and the film would be based on the same ‘original love story.’
A few new details have now emerged about the Shyamalan-Sparks happening, including a title: Remain. The reveal was published by People (coming to us via World of Reel) and also includes a synopsis, which we’ll get to shortly. By the sounds of things, the plan will be to release the book first (this autumn, in fact), with the film version of Remain presumably set to follow later in the year or early next.
Gyllenhaal will play a chap named Tate Donavon, an architect recovering from clinical depression and looking for a new start. Here’s People’s story description:
New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home. Donovan is looking for a fresh start after his recent discharge from a psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression. Still grappling with the loss of his beloved sister, Donovan meets Wren, a young woman who makes him challenge everything he knows about his logical and controlled world.
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It was said earlier in the year that Remain is a “supernatural romantic thriller” of some sort, so it sounds as though the Wren character may not be all she first appears. Spooky or not, it’s been reported that Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor will co-star with Gyllenhaal, so it’s more than likely she’ll be taking the Wren role.
There’s no word yet when Remain will go into production, but it’ll likely be fairly soon. Remain (the novel) will be published by Random House on the 7th October 2025, so it’d make sense for promotion for the film to kick in around the same time.
We’ll bring you more as we get it.
