in september 2008, shyamalan and samuel l. jackson's stated discussions about making a sequel had been largely abandoned in light of the disappointing box office returns. jackson indicated he was still interested in a sequel, but shyamalan remained noncommittal. in february 2010, willis said that shyamalan was "still thinking about doing the fight movie between me and sam" and stated that as long as jackson was able to participate, he would be "up for it".