M. Night Shymalan and Nicholas Sparks Collaborate on New Book (Exclusive)

Name a more iconic duo, we’ll wait.

In a one-of-a-kind collaboration, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and author Nicholas Sparks are teaming up to tell a multifaceted story in a new novel, due out this fall.

Remain, co-created by Shyamalan and Sparks, follows New York architect Tate Donovan as he arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home. Donovan is looking for a fresh start after his recent discharge from a psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression. Still grappling with the loss of his beloved sister, Donovan meets Wren, a young woman who makes him challenge everything he knows about his logical and controlled world. 

Sparks and Shyamalan are independently working on the book and a screenplay, respectively, which will follow the same original plot and characters. A feature film is still under development with a release date to be announced, although Deadline has previously reported that Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor have been tapped for the leading roles.

“Collaborating with M. Night Shyamalan has been one of the highlights of my career,” Sparks told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “We are excited to share the next stage in this process: the beautiful book cover, designed by my longtime cover designer Flamur Tonuzi.”

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Remain will be Sparks’ twenty-sixth book, adding to his collection of New York Times bestsellers (11 of which have become films), including The Notebook, A Walk To Remember and Dear John. Sparks has amassed a global following with his books published in more than 50 languages and over 150 million copies sold worldwide.

Shyamalan is an internationally acclaimed storyteller with producing, directing and writing credits on dozens of supernatural films. His filmography, with movies like The Sixth Sense, Signs and last summer’s Trap, has grossed over $3.3 billion globally. 

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Blinding Edge Pictures, Shyamalan’s production company he founded in 1998, is set to produce the Remain film. Company president Ashwin Rajan is set to collaborate on the project along with Spark’s longtime producing partners, Theresa Park and Marc Bienstock.

Remain comes out on Oct. 7 from Random House and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold. 

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