We have an exclusive clip from the home release of Split, focusing on the acting methods of star James McAvoy. M. Night Shyamalan stunned moviegoers earlier this year with the release of Split. Earning him some of the best reviews of his career thus far, and coming after a succession of flops, Split has grossed $221.9 million worldwide. Split tells the story of what happens when Kevin (McAvoy), a man with dissociative identity disorder, kidnaps three young girls. More than that, though, unbeknownst to audiences prior to its release, Split is a sequel to Shyamalan’s 2000 hit, Unbreakable.

Essentially, now, Split will also serve as an origin story for Kevin’s final, 24th personality, The Horde, since Shyamalan has revealed he’s already working on a Split/Unbreakable sequel. While that’s still a long way off, Split is now on digital release, with a whole host of extras to enjoy. In the clip above, exclusive to Screen Rant, ‘The Many Face of James McAvoy’ featurette explores McAvoy’s skillful acting chops and what he’s like to work with; plus some commentary from his co-stars and producer, Jason Blum. Take a look, above.

While the plot, direction, and co-stars of Split were all superb, McAvoy’s performance was undoubtedly what made the movie stand out. His ability to switch with ease among various personalities - from Hedwig, the shy, innocent child, to Patricia, the intimidating English woman - highlighted McAvoy’s talent; and, as the clip above shows, the rest of the cast and crew were in awe of his work.

As Blum states, if McAvoy couldn’t convince audiences that he really was each of these characters, then Split would have failed - because by the time The Horde is finally unleashed, we totally buy into the fact that this personality can exist inside of Kevin, lying dormant and waiting for his turn ‘in the light.’

The rest of the featurette has commentary from McAvoy himself on his working methods, which will no doubt be intriguing to see. It’s hard enough to nail one character, let alone several different ones, all very different to one another, in one movie. The rest of the Blu-ray release includes an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and another featurette titled ‘The Making of Split’, where filmmakers, cast, and crew discuss what attracted them to the project and how they were able to bring the premise to life. Also included is ‘The Filmmaker’s Eye – M. Night Shyamalan’, where producers, cast, and crew discuss how Shyamalan’s process gives them the freedom to execute their roles to the fullest.

Hopefully, as well as being an intriguing insight into the making of Split, all of these extras (particularly the alternate ending) might give some hint as to what we could expect from the developing Split sequel.

Split is available in Digital HD now, with the Blu-ray arriving April 18th, 2017.

Source: Universal Pictures

  • Split Release Date: 2017-01-20