10 Terrible Threequels That Ruined A GREAT Trilogy

Where unexpected movie trilogies are concerned, there are few that got as close to greatness as M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable series.

Despite being a superhero movie - albeit a highly unconventional one - Shyamalan's Unbreakable wasn't conceived as the first part of a franchise, but merely a standalone comic book thriller.

Yet 16 years later, Shyamalan's acclaimed psychological thriller Split ended up revealing itself to be a secret sequel to Unbreakable, with that film's protagonist David Dunn (Bruce Willis) making a shock appearance in the final scene.

This set the stage for a third film which tied Unbreakable and Split together, and the marketing for Glass did a fantastic job of hyping up a three-way clash between Dunn, his adversary Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), and Split's villainous Horde (James McAvoy).

But Glass was ultimately a far cry from what most were expecting, seemingly intentionally so on Shyamalan's part. 

Eschewing the well-trod conventions of the superhero blockbuster, much of Glass is confined to a single location, the plot is rife with red herrings, the "final battle" takes place in a boring-looking parking lot, and all three central characters end up dying unremarkable deaths at the end.

It felt like Shyamalan deliberately thumbing his nose at mega-budget superhero tentpoles, yet not really in a way that was entertaining or satisfying to watch. 

And like that, all the promise of Split's jaw-dropping final tease swiftly went up in smoke.