5 Surprising Cinematic Universes (And 5 Which Never Got Off The Ground)

M. Night Shyamalan's Split, a psychological horror starring James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy, sees an unstable man (McAvoy) kidnap a group of teenage girls. The incarcerated teenagers soon discover that their captor suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, and exhibits a wide range of personalities.

This tense horror hit, which was a commercial and critical success, was also Hollywood's first 'stealth sequel'.

At the end of the film, after Casey (Taylor-Joy) has eventually escaped her imprisonment, the audience shockingly discover that Split is not merely a standalone venture. In one short scene, the film is revealed to be the sequel to Unbreakable, Shyamalan's earlier superhero thriller starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.

Featuring a surprising cameo from Bruce Willis' David Dunn, the protagonist of Unbreakable, the film's ending totally surprised audiences and critics alike. This stealth sequel was later followed by Glass, thus completing this completely unexpected trilogy.

While Shyamalan is certainly famous for his signature plot twists, the surprise creation of an entire shared universe is one of his most innovate and unexpected moves to date.