Trap: Josh Hartnett describes the next M. Night Shyamalan movie as bizarre, dark, and wild

Last February, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan secured a multi-year deal with Warner Bros., and soon after that deal was made, we heard that his first movie for Warner Bros. would be Trap, a “psychological thriller set at a concert”. That project made its way through production toward the end of last year, with lead roles going to Josh Hartnett, fresh off his appearance in Oppenheimer (pictured below), and Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka. Now Hartnett has talked to IndieWire about Trap, describing the thriller as bizarre, dark, and wild.

IndieWire caught up with Harnett at the SAG Awards, and when they asked him about his role in Trap, he replied, “It’s a pivot, but I try to make all of my roles pivots. If you’re playing the same thing again and again, it gets boring to the audience. Working with M. Night was one of the best experiences of my career. I think he’s a true Artist in the capital-A sense of the word. And I think people are gonna be really surprised and excited about the movie we make. It’s very bizarre, very dark, and it’s wild.“

We previously heard (via FilmUpdates) that Saleka – who is an R&B singer/songwriter – plays “a popstar whose concert is at the heart of the story.” Hartnett’s character is “a father who takes his child to a concert, and unwittingly gets caught up in the surrounding events.” Whatever those events may be. Saleka has recorded songs for her father’s previous projects Old and Servant, but this marks her acting debut.

Since Shyamalan produces and finances his own movies, he was able to get a SAG interim agreement for Trap (which filmed under the codename Good Grades) that allowed the project to go into production before the Screen Actors Guild strike wrapped up. His daughter Ishana was also able to get a SAG Interim deal for her feature directorial debut, the gothic fairy tale The Watchers. That film is set up at Warner Bros. as well and has a June 7, 2024 theatrical release date.

While we wait to learn more about the new Shyamalan project, here’s an excerpt from an interview he did with NME: “I have a new idea that I’ve started writing. It’s out in 2024 and it’s very, very exciting. It’s a thriller. It’s very unusual and very new compared to what I’ve been trying to do [recently], but I’m feeling very excited about the story, so much so that I can’t wait to tell it to you guys. I love that feeling, that electricity of ‘wow, I can’t wait for you to see it’. I will say this, the angle into the story is why it’s so exciting. The story might be something that you’ve seen before but the angle is very, very unique – the point of view.“

Are you interested in Trap? Does Josh Hartnett describing the film as bizarre, dark, and wild have any impact on your hype for this one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.