So, it’s 2026, and we’re still talking about Split. Honestly, that says a lot. When Split M Night Shyamalan first hit theaters back in early 2017, nobody—and I mean nobody—saw that final scene coming. You know the one. That diner shot with Bruce Willis. It didn’t just save a movie; it basically resurrected a career that people had written off years prior.
But here’s the thing: people get a lot of stuff wrong about how this movie actually came to be. It wasn't some grand, multi-million dollar studio gamble. It was actually a scrappy, $9 million "bet on yourself" project that Shyamalan partially funded by mortgaging his own house. That's gutsy. If it had flopped, we’d be looking at a very different Hollywood landscape today.
The Joaquin Phoenix "What If" Scenario
Most fans don't realize how close we came to a totally different movie. James McAvoy was a last-minute replacement. Joaquin Phoenix was originally the guy. He was supposed to play Kevin Wendell Crumb, but he reportedly bailed just two weeks before the cameras were set to roll.
Can you imagine?
McAvoy stepped in with almost zero prep time. He didn't just play a guy with a disorder; he had to build 23 distinct personas on the fly. You've got Hedwig, the nine-year-old kid who’s obsessed with Kanye West, and then Patricia, the poised, terrifying matriarch. If McAvoy doesn't nail those transitions, the movie becomes a joke. Instead, it became a masterclass.
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Why the Ending Flipped the Script on Everyone
The "Shyamalan Twist" had become a punchline by the mid-2010s. People expected something silly, like the trees are attacking or everyone is actually a ghost. But with Split, the twist wasn't about the plot—it was about the genre.
When David Dunn (Bruce Willis) appeared in that Silk City Diner at the end, the movie instantly transformed from a standalone psychological thriller into a secret sequel to Unbreakable.
- The Shared Universe: It wasn't a "cinematic universe" built by a committee. It was a 16-year-old passion project.
- The Eastrail 177 Connection: In the later film Glass, we find out Kevin’s dad was actually on the same train that crashed in Unbreakable.
- The Budget Trick: By keeping the budget at $9 million, Shyamalan had total creative control. Universal didn't even know about the Willis cameo until very late in the game.
Real Talk: The Mental Health Controversy
We can't talk about Split without acknowledging the elephant in the room. A lot of mental health advocates were—and still are—furious about it.
The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) didn't mince words. They argued that portraying Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) as a "superpower" or a source of violence just piles more stigma onto people who are already struggling. In reality, people with DID are way more likely to be victims of violence than the ones causing it.
Shyamalan’s take was that Kevin’s trauma "unlocked" something beyond human. It’s a comic book trope grounded in a very dark reality. Whether you think it’s cool storytelling or harmful exploitation usually depends on how much you’re willing to separate "movie logic" from real-world psychology.
Filming on the Home Turf
The movie feels gritty because it’s a Philadelphia movie through and through. Shyamalan loves his hometown.
- The Zoo: The climax happens at the Philadelphia Zoo, specifically in the lower tunnels.
- 30th Street Station: That’s where Dennis buys the flowers.
- King of Prussia Mall: The abduction scene at the start? That’s one of the biggest malls in the country.
Using real, slightly drab locations made the "Beast" feel more terrifying when he finally appeared. It didn't look like a CGI set; it looked like a basement you might actually get stuck in.
The Box Office Reality Check
Split didn't just do "okay." It was a monster.
It grossed over $278 million worldwide. For a $9 million investment, that is a 2,000% return. It outperformed big-budget action flicks like Vin Diesel’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage during its opening weeks. It stayed #1 at the box office for three weeks straight—the first horror-adjacent film to do that since The Sixth Sense.
Basically, it proved that audiences were hungry for original, character-driven thrillers again. It ended the era of "Shyamalan in Director Jail" and paved the way for his newer stuff like Old and Trap.
How to Watch and Understand the Trilogy Properly
If you're planning a rewatch or checking it out for the first time, don't just watch Split in a vacuum. To get the full weight of what Shyamalan was doing, follow this flow:
- Watch Unbreakable (2000) first. You need to see David Dunn’s origin to understand why the ending of Split matters.
- Pay attention to the colors. Shyamalan uses purple for Mr. Glass, green for David Dunn, and yellow for Kevin (The Horde).
- Look at Casey’s (Anya Taylor-Joy) flashbacks. Her story mirrors Kevin’s. They are both "broken" by trauma, but she uses it to survive while he uses it to become something else.
- Finish with Glass (2019). It ties the father-son connection together and closes the loop on the Eastrail 177 disaster.
Whether you love the "Beast" logic or find it a bit too much, there's no denying that Split changed the way we think about modern sequels. It proved you don't need $200 million and a cape to make a superhero movie that people actually care about.