I Simply Cannot Believe Which Legendary Horror Director Was Approached About Adapting The Notebook

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The Notebook is easily one of the most beloved films from the 2000s. The incredible connection between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, combined with its deeply moving story of forbidden love, makes it a guaranteed tearjerker. But surprisingly, a well-known horror director was once considered to bring this romantic story to the screen, and I was shocked to find out who it was.

Nick Cassavetes, known for directing films such as Blow and John Q., directed the movie adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ novel, The Notebook. However, before the director was chosen, the author himself revealed on Good Morning America which other filmmakers were considered for the job. The revelation was surprisingly unexpected, much like a twist in a horror movie.

A long time ago, in the 1990s, when the screenplay for The Notebook was being developed, they reached out to M. Night Shyamalan to write the screen adaptation. Do you know why he wasn’t able to take the job? It was because he was already working on The Sixth Sense.

I can’t believe this! It turns out that one of the most romantic movies ever made could have been directed by the same person who created scary films like Signs and Split. Before he became known for horror, M. Night Shyamalan started his career by directing Praying with Anger, which premiered at the AFI Fest, and then the dramedy Wide Awake. Although Wide Awake didn’t do well in theaters, New Line Cinema might have been impressed with his ability to direct lighter, more cheerful films.

Discovering interesting tidbits like this really makes you consider what might have happened if M. Night Shyamalan had directed The Notebook. If he had, we might not have gotten The Sixth Sense. Considering that the 1999 film is genuinely one of the scariest ghost movies ever made-and earned six Academy Award nominations-fans like me are glad it exists. Therefore, I believe Shyamalan made the correct decision with The Sixth Sense, as it went on to become one of his most successful films.

However, I often wonder if M. Night Shyamalan would have added one of his famous plot twists to The Notebook. It would have been amazing if the movie adaptation had a surprise ending where viewers didn’t realize the elderly couple was actually an older Noah and Allie until the very last moment. That would have been quite a shock! Or perhaps, in the debate between Noah and Lon, Allie had actually chosen Lon instead. I suppose we’ll just have to rely on fan fiction and videos to imagine how the Nicholas Sparks novel might have turned out if the director of Unbreakable had been in charge.

M. Night Shyamalan’s choice of The Sixth Sense seems to have been a fortunate one, as everything often works out as it should. Apparently, Nicholas Sparks shared with GMA that Shyamalan’s suspenseful thriller motivated him to create a puzzling character in his novel Safe Haven. I believe he’s referring to the character of Jo, whose surprising backstory revealed she was the ghost of the protagonist’s late wife, guiding another woman to form a connection with him. It was a plot twist I definitely didn’t anticipate while reading the book.

Although Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan didn’t work together on The Notebook, they are joining forces for their new film, Remain. The movie, slated for release in 2026, started with an idea from the author known for romance novels. It centers around an architect who constructs a home for a friend in New England, and the story takes a surprising direction when he enters the house. Combining romance and what are described as “big twists,” this project seems like the start of a promising partnership.

I still find it hard to believe that M. Night Shyamalan almost directed The Notebook. But thankfully, Remain will give us a look at how Shyamalan’s and Nicholas Sparks’ approaches to romance and horror come together. We’ll all be able to see this supernatural romantic thriller in cinemas on October 23rd.

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2025-10-05 16:08