Cloverfield 2 Updates: Finally, the famous 2008 found-footage disaster film is having a direct sequel, but where are the other two Cloververse movies left?
Officially, the sequel to Cloverfield 2 is in the works, prompting franchise viewers to ask what this means for the other franchise movies, 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox.
Since 2008, it has been more than 10 years and three films since the found footage of stalwart Cloverfield first entranced viewers with its harrowing take on the catastrophe story, but how can this direct sequel balance all that has changed in the time since its originator debuted?
The franchise was famously characterized by enigmatic ad strategies, tenuous ties between movies, and strong critical response before the third installment. Now the question becomes: how can returning to the events and characters of the first film impact their place in the Cloververse with two sequels already released?
The writing and execution of the original Cloverfield received universal acclaim, detailing the story of a strange alien invasion of New York City through a camcorder lens wielded by T.J. In his debut feature, Miller.
Cloverfield 2 Means For Paradox
Its type of cinéma vérité separated it from its current genre, and its notorious marketing strategy explored the potential of hiding details for dramatic effects, like the film’s approach to the beast.
Years later, a sequel set in Louisiana created an anthology flavor for the series after an invasion by a similar creature, abandoning the found footage style and chasing a new group of characters in a cabin-fever tale whose third act exposes its alien connection to the 2008 film.
Although these two films received critical praise in their own right, by the time The Cloverfield Paradox arrived, the anthology approach had worn thin, panned upon its release by Netflix.
Although this seemed to be a step backward for the series, the film did valuable plot work to broaden the reach of the Cloververse, creating an interpretation of the multiverse hypothesis for the monsters in past and maybe future films.
So how will the foundations laid by its predecessors profit from this new installment, and what will a Cloverfield sequel originally conceived as such do to help the Cloververse?
From the beginning, neither 10 Cloverfield Lane nor The Cloverfield Paradox was planned as Cloververse entries. After the third movie, the propensity to carry tangential content into the fold became so codified that rumors ran wild that Cloververse creator J.J. Next in line to be canonized was Abrams’ 2018 film Overlord.
In the Cloververse tradition of oblique publicity strategies, before the movie debuts, there are every possibility fans will know little of any future crossovers.
If the latest sequel continues the trend of groundbreaking disaster film narrative in the series or follows its lightning-in-a-bottle originator with a more traditional style, Cloverfield 2 has the promise of the following riding on its popularity.
