M. Night Shyamalan reveals why he hasn’t read any of your Trap theories

Ever since the first Trap trailer dropped, fans have been busy trying to guess what the twist will be, although M. Night Shyamalan can’t confirm or deny whether any of them are correct.

In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, the famed filmmaker opened up about why he hasn’t read any of the theories – in fact, he hasn’t read anything about Trap full stop. 

Ever since Cole saw dead people in The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan has become known for his trademark rug pull endings. 

So, when the Trap trailer dropped and revealed the big twist – that Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is actually the serial killer police are looking for – it sent fans down a rabbit hole of speculation. 

Some have argued that it’s a double bluff (us included), while others reckon there’s a link to Unbreakable. 

When Dexerto caught up with Shyamalan and Hartnett ahead of the new movie’s release, we took the opportunity to ask them about their take on all the wild fan theories. 

While Hartnett thinks it’s “fun that people want to get involved in that way,” the director revealed, “I don’t look at anything on the internet, anything written about me.”

As for why, Shyamalan explained, “It’s something Josh and I talked about. As a public facing artist, which most of us are, there’s a very delicate line between what we do, which is the connection to the art form, and then the integration of that art form into the world and the culture. 

“You have to be really careful about that because you can start to care about that more than the art form. Then the integration becomes the most important thing.”

He went on to explain that it’s “super dangerous” when the focus becomes acceptance or “immediate celebration,” because the “cycle goes the other way.”

“Then you yourself start to die a bit, even if you succeed in a temporary way of gaming the system. So, that wasn’t part of the art form.”

That being said, there is one person who’s been enjoying seeing all of the theories: the filmmaker’s mother, Jayalakshmi Shyamalan. 

“Every time I go to have tea or go there to see mom and dad, she’ll tell me something, and she’s so titillated,” he continued. 

“She’s like, ‘Did you hear they believe…’ and then she’ll tell me the whole theory. And I’m like, ‘Mom, I don’t want to hear all this.’ She’s like, ‘Is it true?’ And I say, ‘I can’t tell you mom, you’ve got to see the movie.’”

If you want to see if any of the theories are true, Trap is in US cinemas now. While here you can find new movies streaming this month, as well as everything we know about the Until Dawn film, 28 Years Later, and Smile 2.