Note: Contains major spoilers for Glass and its ending.
Having made fans wait for 19 years, Glass manages to wrap up the trilogy that started with 2000's Unbreakable and unexpectedly continued with 2017's Split – but not without leaving some tantalising questions behind.
Unfortunately, writer-director M Night Shyamalan seems pretty convinced that this is it and there won't be a follow-up. "For me, it is [the end], emotionally. I don't want to relive stuff and I don't want to be an opportunist, that's not the relationship that I have with the audience, that I aspire to," he told Digital Spy last October.
Related: Glass ending explained
And just in case we thought he'd changed his mind, Shyamalan confirmed his current position to Digital Spy recently. "For me, this is it. I love the idea of it feeling like the story continues and for you guys to imagine," he explained.
"Even Unbreakable and Split all had that same feeling at the end of, 'Oh it’s continuing' kind of thing. I like that the story doesn’t finish, but I’m not necessarily going to continue it."
And it's clear just how that story can continue, even without a direct sequel – but to explain how, we're going to have to head into spoiler territory. Look away now if you don't want Glass and its revelations ruined for you.
So if you've seen Glass, you'll know that a direct sequel is pretty much impossible given that its three returning characters – Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson) – are all dead.
They are all victims of the secret organisation that Dr Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) is a part of. This organisation – whose members sport a clover tattoo on their wrists – has been working for 10,000 years to maintain order and ensure that there aren't any "Gods", AKA superheroes, among us. Their method is seemingly either killing any that spring up or convincing them that they aren't superhuman – as Dr Staple was trying to do.
However, that's basically all we know about the organisation which – Shyamalan confirmed to Digital Spy – doesn't even have a name. So while a direct sequel might be out of the question, it feels as though there is plenty of scope for a spin-off about this organisation.
At the end, we see Dr Staple talk about moving on to the next city to continue the organisation's work, where they're about to be busier than ever.
In a cruel twist of fate before his death, Elijah is proven to be right after all – that every time a superhero pops up, their exact opposite is created as well. But, foreseeing his fate, Elijah recorded everything that happened at Raven Hill Memorial and sent it to his mum, David's son Joseph and Casey Cooke, along with a posthumous message that they release the footage into the world.
"Others will awaken, belief is contagious," Elijah explains and as we see the footage go out on news stations at the end of Glass, you're left with the feeling that the secret organisation will have plenty more "Gods" to contend with.
So a spin-off movie could delve into this ongoing battle that had once been secret, but could threaten to become very public. Equally, a follow-up movie could delve into the organisation's past (much like the upcoming Kingsman spin-off) and fill in the blanks of who are the mysterious people behind the clover tattoos.
It appears that her mission with David, Kevin and Elijah is one of Dr Staple's first – if not the first – for the organisation, so the spin-off could use her point of view as a way into their world. If that happens, Sarah Paulson definitely wants to return to the role.
"Oh my God yes. I kept thinking we never see this woman at home, we have no idea what her personal life is like, does she have one? There are a million questions. Yeah, we could do Glass... without Mr Glass," she told Digital Spy.
And who says it even has to be a movie? A follow-up to Glass could go full meta and become a tie-in comic book. That would certainly allow it to go bigger than it might on screen, given the movie's relatively low budget compared to the likes of Marvel and DC superhero offerings.
Of course, standing in the way of any follow-up would be Shyamalan himself. He recently told Vulture that he has the sequel rights to most of his movies for one main reason: "Essentially for the reason to not do them."
So it stands to reason that he'll hold the rights to Glass and its characters, specifically Dr Staple, meaning that if he doesn't want to do a follow-up of any kind, then we won't get an official continuation of the world he's set up.
It would be a shame as it's a fascinating concept, but sometimes, as the old saying goes, less is more.
Glass is in cinemas now.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
