Glass Movie Casting Shock-who Almost Didn't Make The Cut?
The person who nearly didn't make the cut in Glass was Kevin Wendell Crumb's core on-screen presence, with director M. Night Shyamalan saying the first cut ran about 3 hours and 20 minutes and that he trimmed out three of Kevin's 23 personalities before release. The published theatrical version of Glass opened on January 18, 2019, with a runtime just over two hours, after significant tightening from that much longer first assembly.
What the question is really asking
Searchers asking "who nearly didn't make the cut Glass movie" are usually looking for the cast or character that came closest to being removed from the film during editing. In the available reporting, the clearest answer is not a single actor being replaced, but rather specific personalities within Kevin Wendell Crumb's performance that Shyamalan said he cut from the film to reduce runtime.
That matters because Glass is built around James McAvoy's multi-personality performance from Split, and the director's editing choices focused on streamlining that character's many identities rather than removing a lead actor from the project.
What got cut
Shyamalan's own comments indicate that the first version of the movie was "almost 150 pages" and that the first assembly was "3 hours and 20 minutes," which is why he had to prune material aggressively. One specific result was the removal of three of Kevin Crumb's 23 personalities, a rare example of a film's editing process directly altering the internal structure of a major character.
- First cut length: about 3 hours and 20 minutes.
- Theatrical runtime: about 2 hours and 8-9 minutes, depending on the listed source.
- Material removed: three of Kevin Wendell Crumb's personalities.
- Release date: January 18, 2019 in cinemas.
Why the edit mattered
The longer cut suggests that story compression was a central challenge, not a lack of material. A film that started near 150 pages and over three hours had to balance three inherited threads from Unbreakable and Split, plus a large ensemble that included David Dunn, Elijah Price, and Dr. Ellie Staple.
From an editorial standpoint, cutting a few of Kevin's personalities likely helped the movie move faster and keep the focus on the three lead forces of the trilogy rather than on the internal mythology of every alter ego.
Cast and character pressure
There is no strong evidence in the available reporting that a named principal cast member was literally close to being recast or excluded from the film late in the process. Instead, the "didn't make the cut" angle points to content decisions inside the movie, not casting replacements.
In practical terms, the performance most affected was James McAvoy's Kevin Crumb, because the editing removed some of the identities that made the character's screen time so expansive in the first place.
| Element | What happened | Source signal |
|---|---|---|
| First edit | Roughly 3 hours 20 minutes | |
| Script length | Almost 150 pages | |
| Kevin's personalities | Three were cut | |
| Theatrical version | About 2 hours 8-9 minutes |
Historical context
Glass arrived after a long franchise setup that linked Unbreakable and Split, so the production had to serve as both sequel and payoff. That kind of structure often forces hard cuts in post-production, especially when a director is trying to preserve momentum while also honoring multiple storylines.
The runtime reporting from late 2018 also shows how common this is in franchise filmmaking: the first cut can be dramatically longer than the release version, and the finished cut is usually the result of aggressive trimming rather than a simple shortening pass.
Practical answer
If you want the most direct answer, the thing that nearly "didn't make the cut" in Glass movie reporting was not a major star, but several of Kevin Wendell Crumb's personalities, which M. Night Shyamalan said were removed during editing. The broader cast stayed intact, while the film's internal structure was tightened from a 3-hour-20-minute assembly down to the theatrical version audiences saw in January 2019.
- Shyamalan assembled a much longer first cut of Glass.
- He trimmed the movie down for theatrical release.
- Three of Kevin Wendell Crumb's personalities were removed in the process.
Everything you need to know about Glass Movie Casting Shock Who Almost Didnt Make The Cut
Who nearly didn't make the cut?
The closest supported answer is: three of Kevin Wendell Crumb's personalities were nearly cut, not a major actor from the cast.
Was James McAvoy almost cut from Glass?
No reliable reporting in the available sources indicates that James McAvoy was almost cut from the film; the reported cuts were to character personalities and runtime, not to his casting.
How long was the first cut of Glass?
The first cut was reported as about 3 hours and 20 minutes, with the script running close to 150 pages before the final trim.
When did Glass release in theaters?
Glass was released in cinemas on January 18, 2019.