It's Been 15 Years, Can We Finally Get A Direct Sequel To "Cloverfield?"
"Cloverfield" was a very important movie for me. It was responsible for the first piece of content I ever created on the internet. It had one of the most excellent teaser trailers of all time and a masterful viral marketing campaign that I was hooked on. The film, as far as I'm concerned, lived up to the hype. I haven't seen it in a while, but I watched clips the other day and was stunned at how well it holds up. It cost 25 million dollars to make, which even in 2008 was relatively small, and it still looks damn good 15 years later. I don't know if any director in Hollywood is better at utilizing their budget than Matt Reeves. His movies always look so slick. And "Cloverfield" was a critical and financial success that left things open for a sequel. It's been 15 years, and we still need a direct follow-up.
I'm obviously aware that there have been two Hollywood films that have the name "Cloverfield" in the title. "10 Cloverfield Lane" is honestly an excellent movie. John Goodman is so damn creepy in that film. It's a very effective sci-fi thriller...but it's not really a Cloverfield movie. Even the people involved in that film admitted that the film wasn't originally intended to be a Cloverfield movie. It's a film I recommend, but not as a sequel to the 2008 film.
"The Cloverfield Paradox" was a Netflix movie from 2018 that dropped as a surprise release following the Super Bowl in 2018. The movie sucked. It once again made a half-assed attempt to connect back to the original film, but its connection to it was so tacked on and lame. It's clear that, as a whole, the franchise has had no real direction since the original film's release back in 2008.
A direct sequel to "Cloverfield" was announced literally the week after the original film came out. Every few years, we get a report that a sequel is going to be made, but I'm at the "believe it when I see it" phase. Matt Reeves and JJ Abrams (the film's producer) have gone on to do bigger and better things. In a way, I think it goes overlooked how much of a breakthrough this was for both filmmakers. Reeves went on to do the two most recent "Planet Of The Apes" movies as well as "The Batman" (the best movie of last year), and JJ Abrams directed a tiny independent film series named "Star Wars." So the idea of them being involved in a direct sequel may seem like a longshot at this point. But "Cloverfield" was more influential than people give it credit for. That movie masterfully used a viral marketing campaign to its advantage. I'd love to see how they'd expand on that campaign with a sequel, especially considering how the internet and social media have changed over the last 15 years. I really hope we get the chance to see Clover in action again someday.
