Glass Trailer Promises An Epic, Long-Awaited Showdown

After 18 years, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are finally back to finish what they started in Unbreakable, joining up with Split's James McAvoy for a superhero showdown in Glass.

Following a week of short teasers focusing on each of the three "superheroes" in the movie's cast — those being Willis' David Dunn, Jackson's Elijah Price/Mr. Glass, and McAvoy's Kevin Crumb/the Horde, the full trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and Split sequel Glass has landed at last. Check it out for yourself up above, and rejoice. 

We've been talking about this movie for months and anticipating it for even longer, so please indulge us for a second before we get into the nitty-gritty about the details about this movie. We'll put our cards on the table — this looks great. Maybe we're projecting, but it's hard to believe that anyone who's at all invested in the stories of Unbreakable and Split would be able to watch this trailer and not feel some sense of excitement about its promise of an epic showdown.

The 13th film from Shyamalan, Glass is garnering more excitement for the filmmaker than any film of his has in years. It's worth noting for younger readers that Shyamalan used to be lauded as an auteur director, the equivalent of a modern-day Hitchcock or "the next Spielberg" back in the days of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. 

There was a real sense of anticipation around his movies, which is part of what made the backlash against him so strong once he began to falter with (sometimes hilarious) missteps such as Lady in the Water, The Happening, and The Last Airbender.

Now, with his effective revelation during the credits of Split that the story was set in the same world as Unbreakable — which is to say, Philadelphia — it seems that the filmmaker has finally succeeded in recapturing the sense of wonder and anticipation that propelled the projects from the height of his career. He's also added a healthy dose of the B-movie stylings he developed with movies like The Visit, which he wrote and directed, and Devil, which he produced. 

As a result, this movie feels like it's bringing the perfect level of self-aware cheesiness, making shots like McAvoy's Horde galloping across a field on all fours feel menacing and exciting, rather than insanely ridiculous.

In addition to bringing back the main characters of Unbreakable and Split, the Glass trailer introduces us to a new character in the enigmatic Dr. Ellie Staple, the Nick Fury of this particular superhero franchise. But instead of assembling superheroes together to form some kind of initiative, she's working with a psychiatric hospital to convince them that they're actually insane, suffering from "a particular type of delusion of grandeur." Which, to be fair, they might very well be — albeit while also clearly possessing supernatural abilities. 

The trailer also features returning performer Anya Taylor-Joy, from Split, who joins Spencer Treat Clark and Charlayne Woodard from Unbreakable in an effort to ensure maximum continuity across the three movies of the unlikely franchise.

Glass breaks into theaters on January 18, 2019.