M. Night Shyamalan has just netted his biggest A-list star in quite a while if the latest reports coming out this morning prove to be the cast. Deadline is reporting that Jake Gyllenhaal is set to lead the director’s latest mysterious movie, but this one is a little bit different — it’s an original romance thriller mixed with some supernatural activity, and it’s co-created by the guru of romantic novels himself, Nicholas Sparks. Shyamalan and Sparks are independently writing a screenplay and a novel, respectively, based on the same original love story, according to the report by Deadline, which is similar to the work being done on Suzanne Collins‘ The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which is being written at the same time as the film version of the story is being produced.

Shyamalan, whose films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide, is coming off his latest thriller, Trap, which starred Josh Hartnett and delivered another summer box office win for the director, netting a decent $83 million from a modest $30 million budget. The director tends to finance his own films before working with distributors on them, and the report adds that he will once again be producing the film, while Warner Bros. are in discussions over distributing the film theatrically.

This is the first collaboration of its kind for the pair. While Shyamalan has built his career on crafting original, self-contained stories, this will be his first time partnering with a high-profile novelist on a story concept. Similarly, Sparks, known for his deeply emotional novels like The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, has never worked on a project with a filmmaker whose work leans into the supernatural. The result? This film, which could be brilliant or bonkers or bad. Or maybe all three! Hope springs eternal, after all.

What has Jake Gyllenhaal Been Up To?

It’s another big project for Gyllenhaal too, after a pretty good 12 months. He kicked off 2024 with the record-breaking success of Road House on Amazon MGM Studios, which became a massive streaming hit and has already secured a sequel. He followed that with the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ limited series Presumed Innocent, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Next month, he’ll take on another challenge, starring alongside Denzel Washington on Broadway in an adaptation of Othello.

M. Night Shyamalan‘s latest film, Trap, is streaming now on Max. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest on the Shyamalan/Sparks/Gyllenhaal mystery project.