Jake Gyllenhaal is kind of a wild card these days. One minute he’s ripping out throats in a high-octane remake of Road House, and the next he’s playing a disgraced lawyer in a prestige TV drama. But his latest move? Honestly, nobody saw this coming.
He’s officially teamed up with the king of the "twist ending," M. Night Shyamalan.
The movie is called Remain. It’s scheduled to hit theaters on October 23, 2026. If you think you know what a "Shyamalan movie" looks like, you might want to hold that thought, because this project is a weird hybrid that has the industry scratching its head. It isn't just a thriller. It is actually a collaboration with Nicholas Sparks.
Yeah. That Nicholas Sparks. The guy who wrote The Notebook.
What the Heck is Remain Actually About?
Basically, Gyllenhaal is playing Tate Donovan. No, not the actor Tate Donovan—that’s just the character’s name. He’s a New York architect who’s basically falling apart. After a brutal bout of acute depression and mourning the death of his sister, he retreats to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend. He’s looking for a fresh start. A reset.
🔗 Read more: Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus Explained (Simply)
Then he meets Wren.
Wren is played by Phoebe Dynevor, who most people know from Bridgerton. She’s the one who disrupts his "carefully ordered world." Now, if this were just a Sparks movie, they’d probably just walk on a beach and cry. But since Shyamalan is writing and directing, it’s being billed as a supernatural romantic thriller.
Think The Ghost and Mrs. Muir but with more 35mm VistaVision anxiety.
The Weird History Behind the Script
There is a lot of talk about how this project even happened. Apparently, Shyamalan and Sparks almost worked together decades ago. Sparks wanted Shyamalan to rewrite The Notebook back in the late 90s. Shyamalan said no because he wanted to make The Sixth Sense instead.
💡 You might also like: Big Brother 27 Morgan: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Safe to say that worked out for him.
They finally sat down at Shyamalan’s house in Pennsylvania in May 2023 to brainstorm. They wanted to mash their two styles together. The result is Remain. Gyllenhaal apparently jumped at the chance. He met Shyamalan for lunch in New York, mentioned he wanted to work together, and Shyamalan just handed him the script right there.
That’s how things happen when you’re Jake Gyllenhaal, I guess.
Why 2026 is the Year of Gyllenhaal
While Remain is the big talk for late 2026, it’s not the only thing on his plate. He’s been busy. Like, "forgot to sleep" busy.
📖 Related: The Lil Wayne Tracklist for Tha Carter 3: What Most People Get Wrong
- In the Grey: This one has been a headache for fans. It’s a Guy Ritchie action flick where Jake stars alongside Henry Cavill and Eiza González. It was supposed to be out ages ago (originally January 2025), but it got caught in "post-production limbo." We’re finally expecting to see it drop as the dust settles from the strikes.
- Road House 2: Yes, Dalton is coming back. There was a bunch of drama with the directors—Guy Ritchie was supposed to direct but dropped out—but now Ilya Naishuller (Nobody) is at the helm. They’ve been spotted filming in Savannah, Georgia, as recently as this month.
- The Bride!: He’s also in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new movie. It’s a Frankenstein riff with Christian Bale.
The E-E-A-T Factor: Is This Actually Going to Be Good?
Critics are skeptical. Mixing the "I’m seeing ghosts" vibes of Shyamalan with the "I’ll love you forever" sap of Sparks is a massive risk. But Gyllenhaal is the glue here. He has this specific talent for playing men who are barely holding it together—think Nightcrawler or Prisoners.
If anyone can make a supernatural architect feel real, it’s him.
The production value is also high. They shot this on 35mm VistaVision. That’s a big deal. It gives the film a massive, grainy, cinematic look that digital just can't mimic. They took over the historic Cranston Street Armory in Rhode Island for months to build the sets. This isn't some mid-budget streaming filler. This is a big-screen swing.
What You Should Do Now
If you want to stay ahead of the curve on Remain, here is the roadmap:
Keep an eye out for the first teaser trailer in early 2026. Given Shyamalan’s marketing history, it’ll likely be vague and creepy. You should also check out Nicholas Sparks’ novel version of the story. He wrote a book based on the same idea he and Night cooked up, which acts as a companion piece to the film.
Lastly, if you haven't seen The Covenant or the first Road House, watch those now. They show the two different "modes" Gyllenhaal is currently oscillating between—the gritty, emotional soldier and the absolute powerhouse action star. Understanding those two sides of him makes his transition into a "Sparksian" romantic lead in Remain even more fascinating to watch.