The Most Exciting Upcoming Movies That Nobody Is Talking About

You're already well aware of the next big superhero flick—not to mention any number of high-profile sequels and remakes. In all the noise being made by the biggest upcoming films, however, there's no shortage of exciting smaller movies that are being drowned out. We've looked over the release schedule in search of the lower-profile pictures most worth getting excited about, and with that in mind, here's a look at some intriguing upcoming movies you'll definitely want to watch.

Shake and Bake are getting together again. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who famously played best buddies in the comedy hits Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers, are set to team up again for Holmes and Watson, featuring Ferrell as the famous detective and Reilly as his partner. The movie was written and directed by Tropic Thunder's Etan Cohen.

Sherlock may be one of the most popular detectives in pop culture, but Ferrell's take promises to be a different—and much more comedic—take. The duo also has some impressive backup, including Hugh Laurie, Ralph Fiennes, Lauren Lapkus, Rebecca Hall, and recent Game of Thrones breakout Bella Ramsey. The movie has a Nov. 9, 2018 release date, so start dusting off your vests and monocles now.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's Donnie Yen is set to lead your next favorite video game adaptation, a film based on 2012's bestselling Sleeping Dogs from Square Enix. The movie will follow Yen as Wei Shen, an undercover police officer on a mission to take down the Triads, one of the most notorious criminal organizations in the world.

The action-packed game is set in Hong Kong and features its main character fighting, racing, shooting, and more. Yen has proven he's up for anything with his roles as an actor, stunt choreographer, and martial artist in films like the Ip Man series and Iron Monkey overseas, as well as xXx: Return of Xander Cage in the United States. Although the movie doesn't have a release date yet, this is definitely one to keep an eye out for.

Lars Von Trier is going to melt your mind again in September of 2018 with The House That Jack Built. The latest film from the Nymphomaniac director is set to star Matt Dillon as Jack, with the story following his development as a serial killer as he commits five murders throughout the 1970s.

Despite the police pressure closing in on him as he commits more murders, Jack is determined to take greater chances with the killings, which he views as artwork. Along the way, he'll encounter women played by Uma Thurman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Riley Keough, and Sofie Grabol, all of whom are sure to play an important role in his journey. With an eerie story and Von Trier's attachment, this seems sure to send chills down your spine in the best way possible.

Henry Cavill hunting a predator in the thriller Nomis, which follows an American police force who finally manage to entrap an online predator, only to be shocked to learn that his crimes go far beyond anything they initially expected. Although there's no word on who Cavill will play, director David Raymond (The Other Man) says he thinks people will be "blown away" by his performance.

Sir Ben Kingsley, Alexandra Daddario, Nathan Fillion, Minka Kelly, Stanley Tucci, Brendan Fletcher, Mpho Koaho, and Emma Tremblay are also set to appear in Nomis, which Raymond also wrote. Although details are still being kept tightly under wraps, with that cast, it's hard not to anticipate a thrilling adventure.

Ryan Gosling earned an Oscar nomination for his work with director Damien Chazelle on La La Land, so it makes sense that the pair would reunite. This time, they're working together on the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, with Gosling playing Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. 

The movie, which has an Oct. 12, 2018 release date, is described as a "visceral" first-person account of NASA's attempts to put a man on the moon, focusing on the period from 1961 to 1969. The script, from Spotlight Oscar winner Josh Singer and Guardians of the Galaxy's Nicole Perlman, is based on the book First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen. If all that pedigree isn't already enough for you, the movie is also set to star Claire Foy, Corey Stoll, Kyle Chandler, Jon Bernthal, Brian d'Arcy James, and Pablo Schreiber. Something tells us this is going to be another awards season darling.

Have you ever dreamed of Armageddon, but under the sea? Those prayers are being answered with the Kristen Stewart-led thriller Underwater, which features the former Twilight star as a jaded, hardened member of an underwater scientific crew which has to struggle to survive after an earthquake.

T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick, Mamoudou Athie, Vincent Cassel, and John Gallagher Jr. fill out the cast for the film, which is written and directed by Will Eubank, the mind behind the buzzy 2014 horror flick The Signal. Although the movie doesn't have a release date yet, it seems like it could offer a new take on a crowded genre.

Hugh Jackman will undergo an extreme physical transformation for his role in Ferrari, a biopic about Enzo Ferrari, the creator of the eponymous car. Jackman replaces Christian Bale in the part, who dropped out due to health concerns over the weight gain required to play the mogul.

The movie takes place in 1957 and follows Ferarri's battle for supremacy against his rival Maserati. The film also focuses heavily on Ferrari and his estranged wife Linda (Noomi Rapace), who had a relationship that's described as "fiery and combustible as the race cars that Ferrari designed." Michael Mann, a four-time Oscar nominee for The Insider and The Aviator, is set to direct.

Chris Evans is getting ready to leave Captain America behind with some exciting upcoming roles, kicking off with a starring part in the 1980s refugee drama Red Sea Diving Resort. The drama, written and directed by Homeland's Gideon Raff, will feature Evans as Ari Kidron, a charming Mossad agent who helps rescue Ethiopian Jews in the Sudan and transport them to Israel.

The Girl on the Train's Haley Bennett is set to play the female lead, alongside Michael K. Williams, Michiel Huisman, Chris Chalk, Alesandro Nivola, Greg Kinnear, and Ben Kingsley. Although the film doesn't have a release date yet, the opportunity to see Evans take on a new heroic role is definitely one you won't want to miss.

Chris Evans isn't the only Avenger gearing up for new and different things. His co-star Robert Downey Jr. has signed on to lead a remake of Doctor Dolittle, playing the animal physician previously played by Red Harrison and Eddie Murphy. The movie comes from a script by Stephen Gaghan (Syriana), who's also set to direct.

Plot details are unknown at this time, but, with Gaghan and Downey's involvement, the movie could feature a much more action-heavy take on the material. The book on which the story is based, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, provides plenty of opportunity for adventure, featuring the Doctor teaming up with a dog, a parrot, and a 9-year-old boy to search for his missing colleague Long Arrow.

Although Murphy is pretty synonymous with the role for younger audiences, Downey should easily be able to put his stamp on it through his natural charm and charisma. We're also still crossing our fingers that the film will feature music like the 1967 Academy Award-winning version, giving Downey a chance to once again show off his singing and instrumental chops.

The next big Marvel or DC adaptation is probably already on your radar, but lots of smaller comic book companies are gearing up to bring some exciting and interesting characters to the big screen in the next few years. These include Valiant's Archer and Armstrong, who are set to get their own movie directed by Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer.

Archer & Armstrong, which debuted in 1992, follows Archer, a teenager who was raised by a cult with one mission: to murder the immortal, drunken Armstrong. The two eventually team up to make an unlikely duo in what's being described as an action-comedy. Their journey will be shepherded along in a script from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl's Terry Rossio. Although superheroes may be getting a little old hat, this certainly seems like it could bring something new and different to the genre. 

The most intense game of Tag you've ever seen is hitting the big screen on June 15, 2018. A host of your favorite stars are teaming up for the summer comedy, which is based on a Wall Street Journal story about a group of former prep school friends who've been playing an intense, over-the-top game of tag for nearly 25 years. Each year, the group travels across the country doing whatever they have to do to tag each other, with the one who becomes "It" stuck with the loser title for the rest of the year.  

Ed Helms is set to star in the film, with Isla Fisher playing his wife, the organizer of the game. Other players will be portrayed by Jake Johnson, Jon Hamm, Hannibal Buress, and Jeremy Renner, while Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb, and Brian Dennehy also appearing. The Mummy's Annabelle Wallis will play the reporter assigned to follow the crazy group across the country, and Idiot Sitter's Jeff Tomsic is directing. We're already running to line up for this one.

Steve Carell may have gotten his start in comedy, but he's proved over the years to have an affinity for drama, earning an Oscar nomination in 2014 for Foxcatcher. He could be in the awards conversation again for his next film, The Women of Marwen, based on the 2010 Jeff Malmberg documentary Marwencol.

Robert Zemeckis is directing the drama, which follows Carell's Mark, a man who builds a tiny World War II-era village using action figures and dolls—all of whom represent his real-life alter egos—as a way to cope with a violent assault. The project is being marketed as "one broken man's fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit."

Carell has a stellar supporting cast backing him up, including Diane Kruger, Janelle Monae, Eiza Gonzalez, and Falk Hentschel as people who Mark dreams up in his imaginary village and Gwendoline Christie, Merritt Wever, Neil Jackson, and Leslie Mann as some of his real-world encounters. The film has a Nov. 21, 2018 release date. 

Cabin in the Woods' Drew Goddard is set to write and direct the mysterious Bad Times at El Royale, a highly secretive drama starring Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges, and Pacific Rim: Uprising's Cailee Spaeny. Although plot details are being kept tightly under wraps, we do know it follows a cast of characters at the El Royale, a run-down hotel near California's Lake Tahoe, whose shady agendas collide in a violent way.   

Although details about Bad Times at El Royale have been hard to come by, there's a lot about this film to suggest that it'll be a can't-miss. Goddard is an Academy Award nominee for writing The Martian, as well as an Emmy nominee for his work as a producer on Lost; he's also directed multiple episodes of NBC's The Good Place, which he also executive produces. Bringing him together with actors like Bridges and Hemsworth (the latter of whom he worked with on Cabin in the Woods) is a surefire recipe for success.

If you've ever dreamed of a murder mystery starring puppets, The Happytime Murders is the movie for you. This comedy is set in a world where humans and puppets coexist, with puppets living as second-class citizens. The story focuses on Melissa McCarthy's human cop, who has to team back up with her disgraced former partner (Bill Barretta), a puppet, to work together to find a killer targeting the cast of the classic 1980s puppet show The Happytime Game. 

The movie has quite a few stars on board, including Maya Rudolph, Elizabeth Banks, and Joel McHale, and it has puppets produced by the Jim Henson Company, the minds behind the Muppets. Brian Henson, son of Jim, is also on board to direct based on a script from odd Berger (Cover Versions), Dee Robertson (I Kill Flowers to Save the World), Erich and Jon Hoeber (RED), and McCarthy. The movie has an Aug. 17, 2018 release date, so expect to start hearing more about this dark puppet tale soon.

Lupita Nyong'o and Josh Gad are teaming up to fight zombies for the comedy Little Monsters. The movie, which doesn't have a release date yet, comes from writer-director Abe Forsythe, who is best known for the comedy Down Under. Forsythe is also bringing back one of that film's stars, Alexander England, to lead the ensemble. 

England stars as Dave, a washed-up musician who volunteers to chaperone his nephew's kindergarten field trip because he has a crush on the plucky teacher Miss Caroline (Nyong'o). He'll have competition for her heart, though, from famous kids' show personality Teddy McGiggle (Gad). The whole group will have to put aside their differences and come together to protect the kids, though, when they're surprised by a zombie outbreak. Sounds like a post-apocalyptic comedy with (ahem) brains.