The fourth clover field movie is back on track at Paramount Pictures. Following the success of recent sequels such as Sonic the hedgehog 2 and Top Gun: Maverickthe studio will reportedly (per Deadline) move on to an all-new sequel with director Babak Anvari (Under the shadow, I came by) and writer Joe Barton. Bad Robot’s JJ Abrams will produce with Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen, while Bryan Burk, Matt Reeves and Drew Goddard will executive produce.
No details have been announced about this new one yet clover field project, so it’s unclear exactly how it will tie in with any of the previous three films. It’s worth noting that this is the first clover field sequel announced as such by Paramount Pictures. The first sequel to the original clover field from 2008, dubbed 10 Cloverfield Lanewas originally announced as a new movie titled The basement. The real title wasn’t revealed until the trailer arrived, though the film still has little to do with the first episode. Released in 2016, the film follows Mary Elizabeth Winstead who awakens to find herself trapped in a concrete room, held hostage by a sinister man played by John Goodman.
The third film was also a surprising sequel, as it was first announced under the name god particle. The forward-looking film, which premiered on Netflix in 2018, follows a group of astronauts stranded in space when a particle accelerator test goes awry. The movie didn’t do very well with critics, maybe the franchise blocked, but maybe it was only a matter of time before we got our fourth movie.
Cloverfield has spawned an ongoing franchise
The original clover field can also be commended for its marketing campaign. Most details about the film were shrouded in mystery leading up to its release, although the iconic images of a decapitated Statue of Liberty were featured in promotional material. A viral marketing campaign that left people guessing exactly what would happen in the film likely contributed to its success at the box office, creating a franchise that is still running today.
Since each of the films in the series thus far are actually part of their own separate subgenres of horror, the first film is the only one of the three released to date that is not a found footage film. In the original film, New York is attacked by a giant monster along with several smaller creatures, as told by recorded video footage of the catastrophic event.
Last year, JJ Abrams also teased a sequel that wouldn’t be found footage, but was treated as a “genuine, dedicated clover field sequel.” That suggests that the new film will have more to do with that original film. That may also explain the strategy of outright announcing that the film will be a clover field follow up instead of keeping it subtle with a title that makes the link less obvious.
Clover field 4 doesn’t have a premiere date yet.