Production
Remain is based on a story conceived by filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and novelist Nicholas Sparks. The two creatives had almost worked together decades earlier after Sparks suggested that Shyamalan be approached to rewrite the screenplay for the film adaptation of Sparks' The Notebook (1996); Shyamalan declined the offer to make The Sixth Sense (1999) instead. In May 2023, Shyamalan and Sparks met in the former's Pennsylvania residence to brainstorm ideas for a collaboration that would suit their respective cinematic and literary mediums. They proceeded with Shyamalan's pitch and devised characters during that first meeting. [2] [3] In August 2024, Shyamalan told Sparks that he planned to adapt their story into a screenplay to direct. Sparks received Shyamalan's script in October and decided to write the novel version of the same story, "the way it should be told in a novel". [2] [4] Sparks finished writing the book in January. [5]
Shortly after printing his script, Shyamalan had lunch in New York with Jake Gyllenhaal. When the actor alluded to wanting to work with him, Shyamalan handed him the copy. [2] In January 2025, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the distribution rights to the cinematic project, described as a supernatural romantic thriller film, with Gyllenhaal cast in the lead role. [6] By May, Phoebe Dynevor and Ashley Walters joined the cast of the film, now titled Remain. [7] [1] [8] In July, additional cast members were revealed. [9]
Remain was filmed with 35mm VistaVision cameras. [10] Principal photography in Rhode Island began on June 18, 2025. [11] [12] Locations included the Coffee Depot in Warren; [11] [13] a ferry on Narragansett Bay (accessed via the Prudence Island Ferry dock) and the town common in Bristol; [14] [15] [16] the closed Gray's General Store in Adamsville and the Haffenreffer estate in Sakonnet Point, Little Compton; [17] [18] Washington Square (including the exterior of the Florence K. Murray Courthouse in Eisenhower Park) in Newport; [19] [20] the Swamp Meadow Bridge in Foster; [16] a tavern in Chepachet, Glocester; [21] the historic Cranston Street Armory and the Dexter Training Ground in Providence; and the Fort Wetherill State Park in Jamestown. [22] Filming was scheduled to conclude on August 8, [23] [24] and a wrap party was held on August 10. [22] Shyamalan's production company Blinding Edge Pictures paid a monthly $10,000 fee to lease the Cranston Street Armory for seven months, starting on May 1, 2025. [13] [24] The production moved into the armory, which it used as a soundstage, in early July and will keep it available until the end of November for any necessary reshoots. [13] [25]