While it may seem kind of random to some that M. Night Shyamalan would team up with beloved romance author Nicholas Sparks for a movie, their collaboration for Remain, a book-to-screen adaptation set to release on the 2026 movie schedule, makes a lot of sense to me.
While M. Night Shyamalan made a name for himself with horror movies and thrillers, the filmmaker has explored other emotions beyond fear and suspense in his movies, and that very much includes love. Though romance has played a role in some of his best films, none of those movies would be described as romances first and foremost, so I'm looking forward to what these two have in store. Let's get into what we know about both the upcoming book, which is due out in 2025, and the movie, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor, and is set to release next year.
Remain Movie Release Date
Ok, let's talk about the dates first. While the book comes out this year, the movie adaptation won't hit theaters until October 23, 2026, per Deadline. That's at the tail end of spooky season next year, so it'll have some competition with the new horror movies in theaters, including Jordan Peele's next film, which shares Remain's specific release date. While that might be an issue for the two anticipated movies, the genres don't entirely overlap, as Jordan Peele's yet-to-be-titled movie is expected to be a horror, while Remain is described as a supernatural romantic thriller.
Remain Book Release Date
Written by Nicholas Sparks, with M. Night Shyamalan, Remain: A Supernatural Love Story, is set to be published on October 14, 2025. Penguin Random House has the book listed as Paranormal Fiction, paranormal & Fantasy Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Women's Fiction.
The book is available for preorder at bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and you may find it on shelves this October at your local bookstore. As you can see from the photos above, the hardcover edition includes pretty endpapers and covers that feature stamped replicas of the authors' signatures.
What Is Remain About?
On to the plot of Remain. As mentioned, it's a supernatural love story. The romance aspect is no surprise if you're familiar with Nicholas Sparks' writing. His novels, many of which have been adapted for the screen, include The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Safe Haven, Dear John and The Choice. Of course, with Shyamalan involved, it practically goes without saying that there's more going on with the story, as the Sixth Sense director is undoubtedly known for incorporating sci-fi and supernatural elements into his stories.
From what's mentioned in the official description for the book, the story will follow Tate Donovan, an architect grieving the loss of his sister, who -- before she died -- revealed to him that she was able to see spirits. Tate ends up going to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his friend, and he meets a young woman named Wren, with whom he forms a connection. It sounds like that's where the love story comes in, though there's some urgency to the situation, as Tate begins to get to know Wren and finds himself trying to figure out the truth about her past amidst festering "hatred, jealousy and greed" in her small-town life. As the description closes out:
A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?
So... yeah, it sounds like there are bigger things going on here beyond a dramatic love story. But we'll have to wait and see how it that all plays out.
As Deadline puts it in their casting report (more on that in a bit), both the movie and book are based on the same concept, and will have the same characters, "but tailored to their respective mediums."
What's tricky for me, as a fan of books and M. Night Shyamalan movies, is that I know I'm going to want to read the book when it comes out, but I realize that in doing so, I'm pretty likely spoiling the movie. This is always going to be the case for those of us who like to read the book first, but in this case, I'm spoiling the next M. Night Shyamalan movie for myself so... I have a decision to make.
The Remain Cast
In January of this year, Deadline reported that Jake Gyllenhaal would be starring in M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks' new movie, though no title was mentioned at that time. In March, Deadline reported that Phoebe Dynevor had joined the cast. Finally, in July, Deadline reported additional cast members, including Julie Hagerty and Tracy Ifeachor. Here's the cast list as we know so far:
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Phoebe Dynevor
- Ashley Walters
- Julie Hagerty
- Jay O. Sanders
- Tracy Ifeachor
- Hannah James
- Caleb Ruminer
- Kieran Mulcare
- Maria Dizzia
An M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks Collaboration
As mentioned, the book and film are both collaborations between filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and author Nicholas Sparks. When Sparks posted about the projects on Instagram in July, he talked about how he'd hoped to work with M. Night Shyamalan someday, and noted that it turned out, Shyamalan had been wanting to make a love story for a while:
Once we came up with a joint idea, I hunkered down to write the novel and Night turned to making the movie. We can’t wait to share both versions of this haunting love story with you soon!
Production on Remain
On July 18, 2025, M. Night Shyamalan announced the start of production on the film with the Instagram post above, showing him standing behind a clapboard for the movie, with a seaside view behind him. And one month later to the day, on August 19, star Jake Gyllenhaal posted on his own Instagram that production for the film had wrapped. In his post, he thanked the cast and crew for what he described as "one of the most joyful and inspiring experiences."
So the movie is in the can, and now it's presumably just a matter of post-production. Assuming it holds its October 2026 release date, there's more than a year to wait before the film hits the big screen.
Of course, those who don't want to wait that long to dive into the story have only to wait until October of this year for the book's release.
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