Paramount Pictures is actively developing a new sequel to the found-footage monster movie, Cloverfield.
The news comes via Deadline, who report that the studio is looking to gain momentum after the success of Top Gun: Maverick by reviving another popular franchise. Plot details remain under wraps at this time but a director has been attached with Babak Anvari (Under the Shadow, Wounds) set to helm the project. Joe Barton, who penned 2017’s cult horror hit The Ritual, has also been brought on board to write the script.
It is also unknown whether this new installment will be a direct sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2008 film or serve as another anthology piece set in the Cloverfield universe. Previous franchise entries 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox have been set in the same world as the original, but have only loosely tied into it.
2008’s Cloverfield was met with strong reviews amongst critics and became a smash hit at the box office. The film helped director Matt Reeves launch his career and set up many possible sequels moving forward. In the film, a group of 20-something New Yorkers try to navigate the city during an attack by a giant monster, while all events are captured on a handheld camera.
J.J. Abrams is producing for Bad Robot, along with Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen. Bryan Burk, Matt Reeves, and Drew Goddard will executive produce.
Abrams, who has produced on all franchise entries, spoke in 2008 about how Cloverfield was trying to bring a fresh spin to the monster movie genre, saying:
“The movie is meant to be entertainment, to give people the sort of thrill I had as a kid watching monster movies. I hadn’t seen anything that felt that way for many years. I felt like there has to be a way to do a monster movie that’s updated and fresh. So we came up with the Youtubification of things, the ubiquity of video cameras, cell phones with cameras. The age of self-documentation felt like a wonderful prism through which to look at the monster movie. Our take is what if the absolutely preposterous would happen? How terrifying would that be? The video camera, we all have access to. There’s a certain odd and eerie intimacy that goes along with those videos. Our take is a classic B monster movie done in a way that makes it feel very real and relevant, allowing it to be simultaneously spectacular and incredibly intimate.”
Stay tuned for more updates once we learn them.