In 2008, Cloverfield changed the world of monster movies and viral marketing as we know it, giving fans clues and websites to piece together to try to learn the origin of the creature in the found footage film. Last year, audiences were given a huge surprise when, in January, the trailer for a film called “10 Cloverfield Lane” dropped, announcing it would be in theaters months later. Writer of the upcoming God Particle, Oren Uziel, another film tangentially connected to the Cloverfield universe, detailed how his film ties into its predecessors.
What’s important to note about 10 Cloverfield Lane is that, when the film was written, it wasn’t intended to have any connection to Cloverfield. The film was originally titled “The Cellar,” but after multiple re-writes, it eventually turned into 10 Cloverfield Lane. When speaking with Collider, Uziel revealed a similar situation for God Particle.
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“It was written before 10 Cloverfield Lane and the expanded Cloverfield universe even existed as a thing,” Uziel explained. “It was a spec that I wrote probably a year or so after Shimmer Lake, so it definitely existed as its own science-fiction. And then after years of, you know how scripts kind of hang aroundโpeople like them but for whatever reason they decided to make it and then suddenly everything fell into place with J.J. [Abrams], Bad Robot, and Paramount. I don’t know exactly when it became a Cloverfield movie, but I suspect in this current market where it’s just harder and harder to market an original movie of any kind, a science-fiction movie in particular, but I think everyone just knew if it fitsโand it doesโinto that Cloverfield world, it should, and it can only help.”
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There are many debates about exactly how 10 Cloverfield Lane ties into Cloverfield, whether it’s a sequel, spin-off, or alternate timeline, and from how Uziel describes God Particle, it sounds like that debate will continue.
“We rewrote during production, but I’m not sure what it means to be part of the expanded Cloverfield universe,” Uziel notes, “Other than knowing what kind of quality and feel you’re gonna get from something that’s coming out of Bad Robot and J.J. It just sort of helps to give an understanding of like, ‘Okay I understand what type of movie this is gonna be.’ As far as specifics, I don’t think there is one specific thread that makes it a Cloverfield movie, I guess.”
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Based on this description, “Cloverfield” sounds more like a brand than a specific story or universe, similar to the episodic nature of The Twilight Zone franchise.
God Particle, which is currently being referred to as “Untitled Cloverfield Sequel,” hits theaters October 27.
[H/T Collider]