The duo you didn’t see coming: Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan join forces on a ghostly love story

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It might seem surprising that Nicholas Sparks, known for heartfelt romance novels like “The Notebook,” would team up with M. Night Shyamalan, the director of suspenseful, supernatural thrillers like “The Sixth Sense.” However, the two have been fans of each other’s work for a long time, and now they’ve collaborated on a new project called “Remain,” which will be released as a book next week and as a movie next October.

Nicholas Sparks is famous for writing emotional love stories – many, including 11, have been adapted into movies, with Sparks often involved in the production. However, his new novel, “Remain,” is different. It’s a unique collaboration that pushes him into new territory. This time, the love story is between a man and a ghost. Their connection is deeply intimate, even though they can’t physically touch. It’s a love story only Sparks and his co-author could have created.

In early 2023, Nicholas Sparks shared that a member of his team suggested a collaboration with M. Night Shyamalan. Sparks, speaking to The Times from his home in New Bern, North Carolina, explained he’d been a fan of Shyamalan’s work for decades, starting with the classic, “The Sixth Sense” – a film everyone loved. But his appreciation extended to all of Shyamalan’s movies. Interestingly, Shyamalan was almost involved with the film adaptation of “The Notebook” in the late 1990s, but he had to decline due to his commitment to another project – a film called “The Sixth Sense,” Sparks noted with a smile.

Look, Nicholas Sparks has sold over 115 million books – the man’s a legend, so he can really choose any project he wants. He’s also been around Hollywood long enough to know things don’t always come together easily, though his success rate is honestly pretty amazing. So when M. Night Shyamalan approached him with an idea, Sparks was cautiously optimistic. He figured it probably wouldn’t pan out. But to his surprise, a month or two later, he got a call setting up a meeting – in May 2023, at Shyamalan’s offices in Pennsylvania. They decided on a challenge: each of them would pitch a story, and they’d choose the best one. It was game on!

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Nicholas Sparks is a master of romance

It quickly became apparent that Shyamalan’s idea would be chosen, though Sparks is hesitant to explain why, only noting that his own concept was quite bleak. When Shyamalan described his vision as a “supernatural love story,” Sparks felt confident he could deliver something similar—a Lovecraftian tale with elements of other dimensions, fitting within his usual style. He realized that ultimately, a good novel relies on strong characters, good writing, and a well-constructed plot—all things he excelled at. They first addressed the more enthusiastic, fan-driven aspects of the project, and then focused on how well they could collaborate. Ultimately, Sparks says, it came down to whether they worked well together.

The two collaborators spent several hours refining the core concept and brainstorming ideas for the plot and characters. They decided the main character, Tate Donovan (who Jake Gyllenhaal would play in the film), would be an architect dealing with the death of his sister. She reveals to him as she’s dying that she can see ghosts who are still connected to the world of the living. The story, both in the book and the movie, would take place in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and would feature a mysterious woman named Wren, bringing in the supernatural aspect. They sketched out a general outline, but didn’t make any official agreements or set a schedule. Sparks then went home to New Bern. Over a year went by, and Sparks says he didn’t hear anything further. He assumed they were both busy and moved on to a different project.

In August 2024, Sparks was surprised when Shyamalan called with exciting news – he was already developing the story. Shyamalan told Sparks it would be his next film, that he planned to write, direct, and produce it himself. It suddenly dawned on Sparks, “This is going to be a movie by M. Night Shyamalan!” Realizing the project was moving forward quickly, Sparks knew he needed to start writing the novel right away.

Following their phone conversation, M. Night Shyamalan finished a first draft of the screenplay in just six weeks and sent it to Nicholas Sparks for feedback. Usually, Sparks writes the novel first, then the screenplay is developed. However, for “Message in a Bottle,” the script was written first, with Kevin Costner already committed to the project, and Sparks wrote the novel afterward. Knowing how this process worked, Sparks immediately thought the story would translate well to film. He told Shyamalan they needed to make a few changes to better suit a novel format. By October, they had refined the script, and Sparks began writing the book.

Nicholas Sparks’ life story reads like one of his own heartwarming novels. It all started when his mother playfully suggested he write a book to cheer himself up after a track injury at Notre Dame. Though his first attempt was, in his own words, awful and never saw the light of day, it sparked a passion. Years later, after building a family and working in pharmaceutical sales, he remembered his mother’s advice and began writing his first published novel, “Winter for Two,” during his evenings.

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After finishing his manuscript, the author sent it to 25 literary agents, but only Theresa Park responded. She loved the story and suggested a new title: “The Notebook.” At Park’s request, he printed around 20 copies and mailed them to various publishers. One of those copies reached Jamie Raab, an executive editor at Warner Books. Raab immediately recognized the book’s potential and asked her boss to read it right away. Her boss loved it too, and quickly made an offer to buy the novel before anyone else could. Raab remembers feeling the story was deeply emotional and believed others would connect with it. Published as “The Notebook” in 1996, the book quickly became a bestseller. It was adapted into a successful movie in 2004, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, and in 2024, it even became a Tony-nominated play. Raab went on to edit 18 more novels by the author.

According to Sparks, he and Shyamalan collaborated very effectively. Shyamalan gave him a lot of creative freedom to write a novel based on their shared story idea. Sparks would regularly check in with Shyamalan, proposing changes to the plot or suggesting alternative twists. They spoke three or four times a week during the writing process, enjoying a productive exchange of ideas. The main challenge for Sparks was relinquishing some control – he was used to making all the decisions himself. Shyamalan set the overall direction for the story, but Sparks was responsible for figuring out *how* to bring it to life. Sparks believes their teamwork resulted in a fantastic movie, set to release on October 23, 2026, and a novel he hopes will surprise and please readers.

If you’re surprised by Nicholas Sparks writing something different than a typical romance, you should know his very first book was actually a horror story. He was inspired by his favorite author, Stephen King, but it was never published. It makes you wonder what he’ll write about next!

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2025-10-09 13:40