M. Night Shyamalan is making (slowly) a comeback! After a number of high budget failures such as The Last Airbender and After Earth, the once up-and-coming director behind The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable returned to more low profile directorial efforts with the absolutely terrifying The Visit in 2015.

His next project looks to continue the trend laid out by The Visit, with the psychological thriller Split. Starring James McAvoy in the 'split' role, his character displays multiple personalities at different times, and his victims are desperately trying to navigate through his many disorders to find a means to escape. As with the Shyamalan tradition, expect a plot twist in this one as well.

It's amazing as to how we have had three different live action portrayals of the web slinger over the past decade, beginning with the disappointing conclusion of the Sam Raimi trilogy, to Andrew Garfield plus Emma Stone's 'amazing' take, to the new MCU version featuring Tom Holland, who we last saw paying an Empire Strikes Back homage in Captain America: Civil War. Peter Parker's eventful cameo in Civil War looks to promise the same wittiness and banter we have come to expect from him, inadvertently raising the bar for the third standalone Spider-Man series.

While technically still a Sony production, Homecoming will take place after the events of Civil War as Peter Parker returns to high school shenanigans and fights a new villain in the form of The Vulture, played by former-Bats Michael Keaton (guess his Birdman performance was essentially an audition tape?). Adding to the film's caliber will be the return of Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr - probably wasn't cheap), who seems to be taking on a mentoring role to Parker when he's not creeping up on the ever-younger Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). It'll be a test as to whether Homecoming can successful continue the MCU mythos or will it be a case of "too many, too soon" of Peter Parkers?

Ridley Scott's Prometheus was easily one of 2012's most divided film among moviegoers. While it is lauded for its visually stunning cinematography and Michael Fassbender's chilling portrayal of an android, many felt misled of it being a close prequel to the original Alien, but ended up asking more questions than answers, and many scenes made close to no sense (its Honest Trailer really hits the nail on its shortcomings). Based off the very gory trailer on Christmas Day, the iconic Xenomorphs (and not the weird hybrid seen in Prometheus) are back for real in Alien: Covenant, which sees another unfortunate space expedition arriving on another lush planet, and of course, people are picked off by a killer extraterrestrial. 

Michael Fassbender (X-Men Apocalypse) returns as David as well as another android in the form of Walter, and if press release are to be believed, Noomi Rapace & even  Guys Pearce are returning, meaning Charlize Theron's flattend self wouldn't make an appearance. Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beast) will play the new 'Ellen Ripley-like' character, and the new set of expendable crew members include Billy Cudrup (Spotlight), Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight) and... DANNY MCBRIDE??? That Danny McBride from Your Highness?

17)  Life

If Ridley Scott's Alien prequel isn't quite your fix, or you can't wait for  Neill Blomkamp's actual Alien sequel to arrive, consider Daniel Espinosa's Life. Looking like a combination between Gravity and the original Alien, sees another space crew getting hunted down by a creature from the Red Planet aboard the ISS (don't they learn?). Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) heads a diverse cast in the film written by Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese, the duo also behind 2016's darling Deadpool.

I predict this latest Disney live action remake to be a biggie at the box office come March. Other than being arguably the most well known Disney property not featuring lions, the casting of Emma Watson as Belle is an interesting if not fantastic choice, being able to draw in the Harry Potter crowds to watch what is her biggest role since her days as Hermoine Granger.

The trailer suggests a straight remake of the classic, with Dan Stevens (Downtown Abbey) portraying the CGI Beast, Luke Evans (Furious 6) playing the dastardly meathead Gaston. The popular inanimate objects are also hauntingly brought to life (again via CGI trickery) by Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor and Emma Thompson. Online reaction have also been positively lively with Emma Watson's cover of 'Something There', displaying Watson's great musical pipes. Again, expect Beauty and the Beast to make a killing at the box office.

Honourable Mention: The Circle

If the classic retelling isn't your cup of Emma Watson-shaped tea, consider a more futuristic thriller in the line of The Circle also starring Watson. Based on the book by Dave Eggers, the film's centers on Watson having just began work at a a Google-like company led by Tom Hanks, and like a privacy-conscious person's worst nightmare coming to life, she begins to discover the seedy going-ons within the company.

Ryan Gosling is coming off a belter two years, with The Big Short, The Nice Guys, last/this year's La La Land, and this year will be a test of his box office prowess with the sequel to the now 35 year old Ridley Scott film starring Harrison Ford, who also returns, looking nothing like the fan-theorized Replicant. Unlike Prometheus, Ridley Scott's playing no part in the revival of his old properties, with Denis Villeneuve taking over the director's reins. Personally, I've only ever seen the 1992 Director's Cut of the original, and while I felt the dystopian Asian landscape looked gorgeous, the film never veered beyond anything thrilling until the last 20 minutes with Roy Batty.

Ford looks to be the only actor reprising his role in the 'set 30 years later' sequel, with Robin Wright (House of Cards), Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillip), Dave Bautista (Spectre) and Jared Leto (Suicide Squad) rounding out the cast of new characters. It'll be a tough one to gauge how well this film will do, with the original being labelled a box office flop on its release and only receiving the critical acclaim it receives now after numerous re-releases. Put in down to Villeneuve as the best candidate to revive the dormant franchise, given his recent successes with Prisoners, Sicario and last year's Arrival.

Fun Fact: At 15th place, Blade Runner 2049 joins the elusive group of former fifteenth place holders along with prestige films like Mortdecai (2015) and Zoolander 2 (2016).

DC's bumpy road to a successful shared comic universe marches into 2017 with its first superhero team-up in November. Joining Batman, Wonder Woman and still-dead Superman in the team are the very first film portrayals of Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman, who we all last saw via someone's laptop in last year's Batman v Superman (hardly a grand introduction).

The trailer released thus far seem to denote a more upbeat tone, perhaps distancing itself from the 'being taken way too seriously' BvS, and again perhaps aligining more closely with Marvel's Avengers. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it eh? After 2016's botched double trouble with Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, plus with the increasingly divisive Zack Synder at the helm again, will Justice League finally get the approval from the majority of moviegoers? 

Justice League will be under more pressure to break out of DC's bleak fortunes if June's Wonder Woman continues to divide opinion. Gal Gadot's take on the Amazonian warrior was one of the bright moments in Batman v Superman's very, very dark atmosphere, and the breakout character's solo film will be the first female superhero-led film since... Elektra?

Helmed by female director Patty Jenkins (Monster), Wonder Woman looks to be the Captain America of the DC universe with a story set decades ago in World War I, as Diana Prince leaves her all-female island to set foot into human civilization and the impending war. Also stars Robin Wright and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor.

The first of two films on this list centering on primates, Kong: Skull Island is ANOTHER retelling of the legendary (courtesy of, Legendary Pictures) King Kong monster, this time set in the seventies. The latest incarnation of King Kong looks to distance itself from Peter Jackson's straight remake in 2005, evoking a Vietnam war vibe similarly to Apocalypse Now... just with a gigantic ape duking it out with an assortment of hideous creatures atop Skull Island. 

The cast attached to this is just as, if not more interesting than Kong itself, which has *deep breath* Brie Larson (Room), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Toby Kebbell (Fan4stic), Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Jing Tian (The Great Wall), Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton) and even John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as our unlucky group of doomed explorers . What is more interesting for Skull Island will be its eventual ties to Legendary's other reboot of Godzilla, with a planned Godzilla vs King Kong monster mash-up due in 2020. While they're at it, why not throw in the machines from Pacific Rim into the mix too?

I've only just seen this Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) film very recently, as in "watched to gauge whether its sequel should appear on this list" recent, and I have to say that I've missed out on this British gem for all these years. The black comedy about a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh finally gets a sequel 20 years later, with Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returning to Scotland to make amends with his group of friends after their last meeting two decades ago had gone awry.

All of the original casts are back, including Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary), Ewen Bremmer (Snowpiercer) and Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty), even down to the likes of Mark's dad (James Cosmo) and his former flame (Kelly MacDonald). Watching the trailers will sure bring back nostalgic memories for fans of the original, and all signs point to this sequel, again directed by Boyle, to be as good as the original. 

With Johnny Cash's cover of Hurts blaring in the background, for a second you'll forget that you're watching a superhero trailer, but it's indeed the third, and final performance of Hugh Jackman as the clawed but flawed hero of the X-Men franchise. Taking place in the distant future with mutants getting fewer by the day, Wolverine will partner up with an ailing Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) as they look to protect a young mutant who's not so different from Logan. Directed by James Mangold, who also did The Wolverine, Logan looks to be a very emotional yet, with an R rating attached, violent conclusion to Jackman's 18 year run with the character. 

9) War for the Planet of the Apes

8) Baby Driver

7) Thor: Ragnarok

Technically a 2016 film, only a handful of countries have seen Damien Chazelle's follow up from Whiplash, so it's inclusion in this list is partly merited (also it's my list so buzz off). La La Land is already proving to be another feather in the young director's cap, with plenty of pre-awards buzz from critics and general audiences alike, with praise across the board over its music and acting. The trailers themselves have been equally captivating affairs on its own, which shows Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling (in their third collaboration) trying to make it in the yesteryear of Hollywood.

I haven't seen Ben Wheatley's High Rise (starring Tom Hiddleston) yet, but word on the street is that it's either one of the year's better or worse films, but his upcoming feature looks to have a much simpler yet similar wackiness. A gang of criminals show up in a warehouse arms deal which goes horribly wrong (naturally), and a massive shoot-out ensues within the warehouse confinements. Think the last ten intense minutes of Reservoir Dogs and you're probably not far off the mark.

Executive produced by legendary director Martin Sorcese, Free Fire isn't short on stars either, starring the likes of Armie Hammer (The Man from UNCLE), Sharlto Copley (Elysium), Cilian Murphy (Peaky Blinders), Jack Reynor (Transformers), Michael Smiley (The World's End) and newly minted Oscar winner Brie Larson (Room). With this and Kong on the horizon, 2017 will be a big year for Larson as she dons the Captain Marvel mantle a year later in the new Avengers flick.