Unbreakable (film series)  The Unbreakable trilogy, officially known as the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, is an American superhero thriller and psychological horror film series. The films were written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The trilogy consists of "Unbreakable" (2000), "Split" (2016), and "Glass" (2019). All of the films feature the character David Dunn. The series has been noted for its differences from more traditional superhero movies, with Shyamalan's work referred to as "the first "auteur" shared superhero universe". It is the first superhero franchise that is written and directed by one person, in comparison to other popular films in the genre. Shyamalan has noted that while it is based on comic book superheroes, and refers to comic books, it is not actually derived from comic book material itself. In contrast to most superhero films, the series is also generally grounded in reality, and is seen as a deconstruction of the superhero genre. The series is thus considered to be a unique take on the superhero genre. The filmmaker has stated that the films are origin stories of people with unique gifts, with the intent being to acknowledge that every person has something special about them. "Unbreakable" has been labeled the first grounded superhero film, while "Split" has been called the first solo supervillain origin story, and Hollywood's first stealth sequel. The series originated with the film "Unbreakable", directed by Shyamalan and released in 2000. When M. Night Shyamalan conceived the idea for "Unbreakable", the outline had a comic book's traditional three-part structure (the superhero's "birth", his struggles against general evil-doers, and the hero's ultimate battle against the "archenemy"). Finding the birth section most interesting, he decided to write "Unbreakable" as an origin story. At the time, comic book themed superhero films were niche, so the film was marketed as a psychological thriller like Shyamalan's breakout film "The Sixth Sense", rather than as a superhero film. According to Shyamalan, "I was on a conference call with the studio, and they were saying we can’t mention the word ‘comic books’ or ‘superheroes’ because it’s too fringe". Upon release in 2000, Bruce Willis revealed that "Unbreakable" was the first part of a planned trilogy. Both Willis and Samuel L. Jackson pushed for a sequel or trilogy, with Willis stating "It's really built as a trilogy," but Shyamalan expressed uncertainty and said, "I can’t tell you anything about them."