A new Cloverfield movie is coming. Perhaps the strangest sci-fi franchise has three films so far, one of which appeared on Netflix. The fourth is now officially in the works.
In2008, now The Batman director Matt Reeves teamed up with Star Wars director J.J. Abrams to bring the sci-fi horror Cloverfield to theatres. The chaotic found-footage-style film was preceded by a viral marketing campaign. The simple formula: giant monster aliens attacked Earth. None of those involved would have guessed that the series would still exist 14 years later, and especially in this way.
As Deadline reports, a 4th Cloverfield film is coming after Cloverfield (Part 1), 10 Cloverfield Lane (Part 2) and The Cloverfield Paradox (Part 3).
This is what is known about the new Cloverfield movie
According to the report, Babak Anvari (Wounds) will direct Cloverfield 4. Joe Barton (The Ritual) is writing the script and J.J. Abrams is returning as a producer, as are Matt Reeves and Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods), among others. The project, which is being developed at Paramount, can therefore boast concentrated genre expertise. A start date has not yet been announced.
With Netflix coup: the bizarre story of the Cloverfield series
Since the marketing campaign, Cloverfield has had an air of mystery about it. The first “sequel” 10 Cloverfield Lane turned out to be part of the series at all only late on. The points of contact are marginal, basically the film only has the title in common with its predecessor.
This was hardly different with the third film, Cloverfield Paradox. A more or less original sci-fi horror plot was here attached to an existing franchise skeleton. Still, Paramount had no faith in the film in 2018. It was unceremoniously flogged to Netflix for fear of a flop. An appropriate word in this case.
The film went over the table for a reported 50 million US dollars. The deal was announced during the Super Bowl: at the time, everyone still expected Cloverfield Paradox to be released in cinemas. Netflix had acquired a film that was passable at best, but it had the attention on its side.
Will Cloverfield 4 be part of this story? Currently, the production seems almost disappointingly normal.
