New DEVIL Poster & Why Shyamalan’s Name Will Always Stay On Posters and Trailers

Universal Pictures and Media Rights Capital have released a second poster for M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural film, The Night Chronicles: DEVIL. Have another look at the trailer. *UPDATE* On August 4th, The Motion Picture Association of America’s Classification and Ratings Administration released ratings for DEVIL.

Devil has been rated PG-13 for “violence and disturbing images, thematic material and some language including sexual references.”

Ok, so Shyamalan’s LAST AIRBENDER wasn’t the second coming as some hoped for and, yes, I was in the minority of people who truly liked it. Despite the negative reaction at Comic Con when Night’s name appeared toward the end of the DEVIL trailer, the powers-that-be at Universal Pictures are no fools. They know his name still gets people into the seats. Maybe not as it once used to, but many will always go to see what comes from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan.  As of August 2nd, THE LAST AIRBENDER has a $167,048,660 worldwide gross (Box Office Mojo). Considering he ranks #22 on Box Office Mojo’s Director’s list of all-time grosses with $965.6 Million, a mere breath’s away from that billion dollar mark, not bad for a guy who’s films no one goes to see anymore.

Ever since the worldwide phenom of 1999’s THE SIXTH SENSE, Oscar-nominee Shyamalan has had the right to final cut, when his movies would be released around the world, where he’d shoot his films, which actors would be hired, and how the trailers and posters would look. Most importantly, all his films posters and trailers would contain an above the title credit – “Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.” No other director can make that type of claim. While Anne Thompson over at IndieWire has some valid points in her article, “Take Shyamalan’s Name Off the Devil Trailer!”, I have to ask, if audiences are so “burnt and angry,” why do they continue to plunk down $10+ for another of his films where they know, or think, they’ll be let down again? Surely it wasn’t just me who gave THE LAST AIRBENDER its $40 Million opening weekend. As to the film DEVIL, it will do fine at the box office just by word-of-mouth – with or without the M. Night Shyamalan name attached. If anything, people may be pleasantly surprised in the end to see his name amongst the credits.

I think I’ve waved the M. Night flag long enough and I like the new poster – it’s so ominous. DEVIL, the first movie in the Night Chronicles series, is about a group of people stuck in a claustrophobic elevator, only to discover that one of them is the devil. The Night Chronicles series, from Media Rights Capital and Shyamalan, will be made over the next three years. As M. Night announced in June, the second film, TWELVE STRANGERS, is about Twelve jurors who preside over a case with supernatural elements.

DEVIL stars Chris Messina, Geoffrey Arend, Logan Marshall-Green, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O’Hara, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob Vargas. From directors and brothers John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle (QUARANTINE), with the story by M. Night Shyamalan and screenplay from Brian Nelson (HARD CANDY, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT), Universal Pictures will release DEVIL in theaters on September 17, 2010.

Visit the film’s official website at http://www.thenightchronicles.com/devil/, like it on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.