Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has candidly acknowledged that he is struggling with the outline of his next film, saying that research calls, video meetings, and a trip to Los Angeles have pulled him away from the core creative act of writing. The admission came in a video update shared on Instagram on 3 November 2026, offering fans a rare and unfiltered look at the director's creative process.

What Shyamalan Said

Speaking directly to camera, the director did not mince words about the past fortnight. 'It's November 3rd, 2026. It's been about two weeks, I think, since the last time we talked. I've been outlining and writing in the journal. This has been, I was gonna say, a little bit of a hot mess, to be honest, but I'm trying to understand why I'm struggling so much,' he said.

Shyamalan described filling a notebook with what he called 'rantings of disparate ideas' — a collection of research-driven thoughts that, in his view, have drifted away from genuine personal expression. 'Everything is pulling me away from it just being an expression of something in me,' he noted, adding that he was 'not giving myself a good grade at all for these two-week period.'

The LA Trip and 'Remain'

Part of the disruption stemmed from a visit to Los Angeles, where Shyamalan screened his latest film 'Remain' for his new studio bosses — an experience he described as 'wonderful' and 'lovely'. However, he was clear-eyed about the trade-off: the trip meant he was not writing. 'We can lie to ourselves a lot about why we're not writing, but you're not writing and that's all that matters,' he said.

He graded himself bluntly in the video: 'Rather than a grade, I would give myself, you know, did not attend school. That's probably what I would give it.' The remark underscores the self-imposed pressure Shyamalan places on consistent output, even after decades as a filmmaker.

His Commitment Going Forward

Despite the frustration, Shyamalan stepped back from abandoning the outline entirely. In the caption accompanying his Instagram post, he wrote: 'I almost gave up on the outline altogether but this morning I committed to outlining through the end of the year, then starting the screenplay after Christmas.' The timeline suggests the script could enter active drafting as early as January 2027.

He also grounded his creative drive in a personal reminder of what writing has meant for him: 'At the end of the day, all of this, this house, everything, every piece of clothing I own came from me writing and I just need to get back to that.'

Background and Career Context

Shyamalan is known for supernatural-themed films built around unexpected twist endings, a signature style that has earned him nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe. His most recent film, 'Remain', is now in the hands of his new studio. The new, as-yet-untitled project marks his next original screenplay, with research evidently rooted in specific real-world locations and communities. All details of the new film's subject remain undisclosed at this stage.

With a self-imposed deadline to complete the outline by year-end, Shyamalan's next public update will likely indicate whether the creative block has lifted.