'Glass' Ending Spoilers: Will The Movie Have a Sequel?

Glass offers an interesting take on superheroes, but it's ending is filled with twists that will shock long fans of the Unbreakable film world. Spoilers ahead as we break down the movie's explosive ending and what's in store for the franchise's future.

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Glass follows the conclusion of Split (2016). Split, itself, was a sequel to Unbreakable (2000)—the premiere film to kickoff the filmmaker's psychological thriller film series. Glass tells the story of David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) as they're brought into a mental institution after a physical altercation that led to them being captured by the authorities. David and Kevin are placed in the same program as Elijah Price, also known as Mr.Glass (Samuel L. Jackson). The trio is then examined by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who is a psychiatrist that aims to convince the group that they don't possess superpowers similar to comic-book characters.

Things grow complicated at the psychiatric ward as the film's characters and audiences alike discover Elijah has had a plan all along—something Dr. Staple later refers to as a "suicide mission." When he escapes from his holding room one night when the institution's security system was down, he initially informs Kevin of his plans to help the trio escape. In doing so, he says he wants the group to travel to a newly built building to show off their powers to a wider audience.

David, Kevin and Elijah never make it to the building site, but they do manage to escape. What results is a brutal fight between David and Kevin. However, the showdown wasn't even the most shocking thing to surface toward the film's end. It was revealed by David's son Joseph Dunn (Spencer Treat Clark) that Mr. Glass had planned for this moment to happen all along, beginning in Unbreakable. He caused the train's derailment in Unbreakable, which resulted in the death of Kevin's father and David walking away as the lone survivor.

In learning of this revelation, McAvoy's Kevin—while in Beast mode—kills Mr. Glass. Kevin was later shot by an officer. David dies as well after an officer repeatedly shoves his head into a pit of water.

The night before, Elijah broke into the system when the security was down. He arranged for footage from the multiple cameras set up around the facility to be sent to Joseph, Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Elijah's mother (Charlayne Woodard) after the final throwdown. The trio ultimately published the footage online, causing it to go viral—just as Elijah envisioned.

"This is not a cartoon. This is the real world and yet, some of us still don't die with bullets. Some of us can still bend steel," Elijah said in the film. "I've been waiting for the world to see that we exist."

Keeping the ending to Glass in mind, it doesn't yield a sequel. However, there have been several films—including the upcoming Disney-Pixar venture Toy Story 4—that have produced additional installments after previously depicting a clear end to the franchise.

Fans aching for another a follow up to Glass may be disappointed to learn Shyamalan has admitted to having no desire to write or direct any future installments within the Unbreakable film series.

"That's not interesting to me," Shyamalan told Vulture. "There's no danger in that. Or not enough danger, let's say that…For me, my weapon isn't matching pyrotechnics against pyrotechnics. I'm just not good at it! I just can't—Avengers and movies like that—I mean, I don't even know how they do these things."

Even if Glass performed well enough at the box office to lead Universal Pictures to ask for a sequel, Shyamalan isn't interested in revisiting the franchise. "We're not doing that though. I have the sequel rights to most of my movies, essentially for the reason to not do them," he said.

Glass is now playing in theaters nationwide.

glass movie cast
Sarah Paulson (L-R), James McAvoy, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are pictured attending the 'Glass' New York Premiere at SVA Theater on January 15, 2019, in New York City. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Dory Jackson is a New York-based entertainment journalist from Maryland. She graduated from Randolph-Macon College—in May 2016—with a focus in Communication ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go