20 Upcoming Movies That Might Be Surprisingly Good

The upcoming He-Man movie Masters of the Universe has more red flags than most folk have had hot dinners. 

For one, set photos indicate that the film will take place primarily on Earth rather than He-Man's home planet of Eternia - a bummer for fans of the IP wanting to see Eternia be realised in a splashy blockbuster.

Then there's the casting of everyone's favourite actor, Jared Leto, in the role of Skeletor, and the fact that MGM has produced the film for an eye-watering $150 million, ensuring it faces one hell of a steep climb to turn a profit.

But there is one big secret weapon here - Masters of the Universe is being directed by Travis Knight, the CEO of stop-motion animation studio Laika, who himself directed the acclaimed Kubo and the Two Strings.

More relevant here, however, is that Knight also made a successful live-action directorial debut with 2018's Bumblebee, which certainly makes him an inspired pick to try and do this tricky IP justice as a live-action tentpole.

It doesn't hurt that the script has been written by two-time Oscar nominee Chris Butler, who co-wrote and directed Laika's Paranorman and Missing Link, and also co-wrote Kubo and the Two Strings.

That is to say, Knight and Butler aren't a pair of hacks-for-hire merely chasing a paycheck - they're smart filmmakers who clearly want to do right by this franchise.