Is Trap Another Surprise M. Night Shyamalan Sequel?

M. Night Shyamalan has always been known for his plot twists. It’s arguably the most defining feature of all his movies. Because of this, the amount of information revealed in the trailer for his upcoming film, Trap, has people wondering whether it’s simply a red herring for something else. Per the trailer, Cooper (Josh Hartnett) takes his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a massive pop star’s stadium concert. However, upon their arrival, Cooper becomes keenly aware of the heavier-than-normal police presence. When he asks a seemingly random employee working at the merch stand what’s happening, the employee immediately divulges a slew of information. In an effort to catch the infamous serial killer known as “The Butcher,” police have set a trap for him at the concert. It’s then made clear that Cooper is the Butcher, or at least that’s what the trailer leads viewers to believe.

Given the nature of most M. Night Shyamalan movies, it doesn’t seem plausible that such a massive reveal would be given away in the trailer unless the film is about something else entirely. Furthermore, the apparent plot indicated in the trailer doesn’t make sense on its surface, which could mean there’s more to the film than its marketing wants viewers to believe. As the trailer indicates, audiences should “get ready for a new experience in the world of M. Night Shyamalan,” which suggests the upcoming story in Trap is part of “a world” the director has already established. Rather than something completely new, the film’s narrative may serve as a sequel to one of Shyamalan’s biggest movies.

Trap Could Be a Secret Sequel to The Sixth Sense

Thanks to CinemaBlend, the most prominent theory gaining traction about the film is that Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), the young boy who sees dead people from The Sixth Sense, is now grown and using his ability to aid police in their search for The Butcher. Much like he did with the young girl whose mother was poisoning her, Cole could be communicating with The Butcher’s victims to prevent future murders. Given the number of murders the killer seemingly has under his belt, they could be speaking with Cole, who is then informing police officers of The Butcher’s whereabouts.

The Sixth Sense was a film that hid its reveal in plain sight. In hindsight, it was clear Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), Cole’s psychologist, didn’t survive his gunshot wound at the beginning of the film, but audiences believed it, nonetheless. The reveal stared viewers in the face the entire time, but it didn’t fully materialize until the end. The same could be the case for Trap. Given the extent of what is disclosed in the film’s latest trailer, the big reveal may have already been shown, but viewers don’t realize it yet. The biggest twist most likely has nothing to do with knowing Cooper is The Butcher.

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However, the details of the aforementioned theory don’t explain the extravagant manner in which the police undertake to bring in The Butcher. The entire concert is meant to be a trap designed to capture one serial killer they somehow know will be attending the show. Granted, this could still be a part of The Sixth Sense world, but maybe not in the way viewers initially think. That being said, there’s clearly something happening that audiences simply can’t see just yet. True to form, Shyamalan most likely has a larger reveal hidden under his sleeve.

Shyamalan Has Done This Before With Split

Somehow, the Trap trailer gives viewers so much and yet so little, which is clearly by design. It’s no accident that such a major aspect of the film made its way into the previews. However, such an important detail is probably a red herring, so audiences don’t immediately catch on to how the film fits into a larger world Shyamalan has already established. Given the director has done something similar with his other films, it would make sense for him to do it once more. Much to the surprise of moviegoers, Split was, in fact, part of the world Shyamalan created with Unbreakable, which means the same is possible for The Sixth Sense and Trap.

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Before Split hit theaters, there was no indication the film was anything more than another Shyamalan movie. The film’s marketing never alluded to anything other than an original thriller about a man with multiple personalities who kidnaps a group of young girls. Only at the very end of the movie did audiences learn it takes place within the Unbreakable universe and actually served as a sequel of sorts, which was then followed by Glass. This same situation could easily be the case for Trap. In the same way that Split was a secret sequel to Unbreakable, Trap could be a secret sequel to The Sixth Sense. Whether or not such a theory comes to fruition, it’s clear the film is hiding something deeper that won’t be revealed until it hits theaters later this year. Trap is slated to hit theaters on August 9, 2024.