What Elijah Means When He Says "Origin Story"

Summary Glass reveals an unexpected origin story for superheroes in Shyamalan's trilogy, subverting typical expectations.

Mastermind Mr. Glass's plan to expose superheroes to the world ultimately ends in all three main characters' deaths.

Despite an open-ended conclusion, Shyamalan has not indicated any plans for expanding the Glass universe further.

Despite being the third movie in the trilogy, it is suggested at the end of the movie that Glass was an origin story all along. M. Night Shyamalan began his original superhero story back in 2000's Unbreakable, only for 2016's Split to secretly reveal it was a sequel. This led to the third movie in the franchise, with Glass bringing together the characters of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson). However, the movie subverts expectations of a superhero movie, setting up the intriguing claim that it is an origin story.

Glass sets up a typical superhero movie showdown going into the third act with Price aka Mr. Glass setting up a master plan that seems to involve using Crumb's monstrous personality, The Beast, in a terrorist attack, leading to Dunn attempting to stop them. Despite the build-up, nothing comes of Glass' presumed plan as the confrontation in the prison year ends with all three main characters dead at the hands of the secret anti-superhero organization known as Clover. While it seems like an anticlimactic showdown, Glass insists it was an "origin story", hinting at his true master plan.

Glass's "Origin Story" Was About A New World Order

Elijah Price's Master Plan Was To Reveal Superheroes To The World

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Characters reference comic books throughout Glass. In fact, the unfolding story between Mr. Glass, David, and Kevin is likened to a limited edition comic book. However, Elijah Price states that the events unfolding in Glass are more akin to an origin story, which is puzzling given that all three superpowered characters in the story have been killed by the end of their showdown. Regardless of whether Glass knew his, David, and Kevin's deaths would be inevitable, his master plan, which he saw as an origin, was about exposing the world to superheroes.

From as early as Mr. Glass' storyline in Unbreakable, he's been trying to put individuals imbued with superhuman abilities into the public eye.

From as early as Mr. Glass' storyline in Unbreakable, he's been trying to put individuals imbued with superhuman abilities into the public eye. His methods have been twisted to say the least — killing thousands of people so that the world would discover real-life superheroes exist. He eventually found David but was arrested and put away before he could expose the secret to the world. However, with Glass bringing him together with David and Kevin, Glass is given a new opportunity to see this plan through.

Glass manipulated Kevin and The Beast into working towards his plan and he knew the threat of a massive attack would spur David into action. However, he never had any intention of seeing that plan through and he just wanted Kevin and David's powers to be exposed on the cameras outside of the prison so that they could be presented to the world.

Does Glass Set Up More Of The Story?

M. Night Shyamalan Hasn't Indicated He Wants To Continue Expanding On The Glass Universe

M. Night Shyamalan doesn't plan on expanding the events of Glass into future films, even though the ending of Glass leaves plenty of room for more stories to be told. The implied future of the Glass universe speaks for itself at the end when Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), and Mrs. Price (Charlayne Woodard) release the footage captured during the battle between David and Kevin and wait to see how the general public will react.

Once it's evident that people have not only seen the footage but undeniable proof that superheroes exist, it's clear that Mr. Glass' planned origin story was the start of something that will no doubt change the world. Glass isn’t an origin story for any of its main characters, it’s an origin story of a new age on earth: the age of superheroes and villains. Even if that isn't explored in future movies, it is an exciting idea to end the movie on.