M Night Shyamalan reveals he is working on Magic 8 Ball series with Mattel

By Hannah Roberts, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

The Sixth Sense director M Night Shyamalan has revealed he is working on a Magic 8 Ball series alongside toy company Mattel.

The scripted live-action television series reimagines the novelty toy as the “centrepiece of a high-concept, character-driven supernatural drama that blends psychological intensity with cultural intrigue”, according to a description from the toy company.

The toy, which looks like an oversized pool ball, is manufactured by Mattel and used for fortune-telling through messages that appear at its bottom.

The drama follows in the footsteps of the Barbie movie, released in 2023, which sees the famous Mattel doll, played by Margot Robbie, dealing with an existential crisis.

In an Instagram post, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Shyamalan, 55, shared a picture of a Magic 8 ball and a script that read: “Magic 8 Ball: Season 1, ‘Pilot’. Written by Brad Falchuk. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.”

The caption said: “Been working on this for a couple years… Who’s in?”

Shyamalan, who is director, co-creator and co-showrunner of the series, is also known for directing horror movie Split (2017), about a man with 23 alter egos, and Trap (2024), about a father and daughter caught in an FBI sting operation to catch a serial killer.

Falchuk, 54, co-creator of American Horror Story, is writer, co-creator and co-showrunner of the series.

Mattel said the series “marks a bold step forward in Mattel’s strategy to expand its rich portfolio of brands into compelling, world-class entertainment”.