After a five-movie stint with Universal, director M. Night Shyamalan leaves the studio for Warner Bros. Discovery. The partnership, which started in 2015 with the release of The Visit, was instrumental in Shyamalan’s career renaissance.

Warner Bros. has set a release date for Shyamalan’s upcoming project, Trap, which will open on August 2nd, 2024. The studio also acquired The Watchers, a movie written and directed by the director’s daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan.

Shyamalan became a household name with the critical and commercial success of The Sixth Sense. The Disney film, released in 1999, has one of the most iconic endings in film history and notched Shyamalan Oscar nominations for best director and screenwriter. He followed that up with another critical success in Unbreakable, released the following year.

His career took a slump in the oughts with a string of critically panned movies, including Lady in the Water in 2006, The Happening in 2008, and the infamous The Last Airbender in 2010.

With his career at an all-time low, Shyamalan had trouble finding a distributor for his self-funded genre-bending horror movie The Visit. Universal ultimately came to the rescue and released the film in 2015. It became a sleeper hit, grossing nearly $100 million against a $5 million budget.

What followed was a career revival for the helmer. His subsequent three films were all hits. These include Split and Glass, the sequels to Unbreakable, in 2016 and 2019, respectively, and Old in 2021. His most recent film, Knock at the Cabin, released on Feb. 3rd, finished atop of the box office its first weekend while garnering positive reviews.

“Where I write and direct is my home. Disney and Universal, where I’ve made most of my films, will always be home and family to me. Warner Bros. has a storied history of cinema,” Shyamalan said about the transition. “Through its recent experiences, the company has rediscovered its love and appreciation for filmmakers, and the impact of the theatrical experience. We all win when movies succeed in theaters. I believe David Zaslav, Michael De Luca, and Pam Abdy have dedicated themselves to unique filmmakers, and to filling theaters all around the world for years to come.”