M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks join forces on 'Remain' novel and film

M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks join forces on 'Remain' novel and film

Leila Fadel

Olivia Hampton

October 14, 2025 / 2:00 am

When he was a budding 25-year-old filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan was tapped to adapt The Notebook — Nicholas Sparks' soon-to-be famous romantic novel — for the big screen. Shyamalan turned it down because he was already working on what would become his breakout film , The Sixth Sense (1999).

Nearly three decades later, the two storytellers have finally come together. Their new project Remain is both a novel and a film based on a story they developed in tandem. The book is out now. The movie is due in theaters next October.

"I'm so blessed that the first date that I had with the audience, The Sixth Sense , was something that came wholesale from