Following some uncertainty, director M Night Shyamalan is poised to begin work on Good Grades, according to reports.
M Night Shyamalan is on a flyer in 2023. The prolific filmmaker is set to enter production on his third film of 2023, following un uncertain spell where it looked as though the ongoing actors’ strike might throw Good Grades, his next project, into limbo.
Just to recap: Shyamalan started 2023 still making final changes to Knock At The Cabin, according to IMDb’s production details. Then, having released that one a couple of months later, he was onto Trap, a film that marked his first collaboration with new partner, Warner Bros. We don’t know too much about that one at all. It was shooting for several weeks before the actors’ strike began but there’s been no confirmation whether it wrapped before the shutdown happened.
However, World of Reel is reporting that another Shyamalan project is definitely set to shoot this year in the form of Good Grades. This project is also shrouded in secrecy, but it’s reported that the production has been granted an interim waiver by SAG-AFTRA, meaning it can shoot despite the current strike conditions.
That certainly leaves a question or two: if the production has been given an exemption by SAG-AFTRA, then that would suggest it’s no way affiliated with a major studio, so is the project not connected to Shyamalan’s first-look deal with Warner Bros?
Also, what happens if the actors’ strike ends quickly (as there are rumours it might with crunch talks set for Monday) and Shyamlan has started production on a new film with his previous one left in a state of limbo? If the new film is independent and his (potentially) incomplete production is a studio project for Warner Bros, we can envision a scenario where one party is going to end up dissatisfied.
We don’t know the answers to these questions but we’re definitely interested to see how all of this plays out. We do know that we’re enjoying Shyamalan’s audacious approach to getting films made – particularly in this year’s climate. Rest assured, we’ll bring you more updates as things become clearer.
Read more: Knock At The Cabin review – a family must make a choice
