8 'Next Big Thing' Movie Directors Who Didn't Live Up To The Hype

5. Duncan Jones

Mute Alexander Skarsg Rd
Netflix

When Duncan Jones burst onto the scene in 2008 with the inventive sci-fi thriller Moon, he was praised for breathing new life into a genre that was increasingly losing its smart appeal in favour of dumbed-down big-budget bombast. Sticking with the same theme, he went on to deliver the similarly-smart Source Code a few years later, properly establishing himself as one of the most exciting filmmakers working in the genre.

He then seemingly got his big break, picked to helm the big-screen adaption of Blizzard's Warcraft gaming series. A tough job for any director, Jones couldn't quite make the premise work on screen, though the film's failure was also blamed on interfering producers. Unfortunately, Jones couldn't fall back on the same excuse when his next film, Mute, received an even worse critical kicking.

Though he was once given the benefit of the doubt, it's becoming increasingly apparent that the director's most recent movies weren't the one-off misfires many believed them to be.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.