JJ Abrams wants you to know that the upcoming film Overlord from his Bad Robot production shingle is not an installment in the science-fiction anthology series Cloverfield, which he produces. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t more Cloverfield in our future.
Speaking at CinemaCon, the annual trade show for motion picture exhibitors in Las Vegas, Abrams dispelled rumors that his upcoming film Overlord was a stealth Cloverfield film, stressing that the science-fiction-horror hybrid set during World War Two stands separate from the other series.
The speculation that Overlord could be a Cloverfield film was understandable. The second Cloverfield movie, 10 Cloverfield Lane, was developed, shot and initially announced under the title Valencia. The film’s real title was only revealed a few weeks before its release and created quite the buzz among fans. The third Cloverfield installment, The Cloverfield Paradox, was developed under the title The God Particle. This film originally did not start out as a Cloverfield movie but was retrofitted into the franchise through a series of reshoots. When execs at Paramount were still not happy with the film they sold it off to Netflix. The streaming service premiered the film the night of the Super Bowl with an announcement that caught everyone by surprise. But excitement that was generated by the surprise release was quickly muted as disappointed reviews started to roll in almost immediately.
Abrams did state that there is what he called “a true, dedicated Cloverfield sequel” in development and promised that the film was being readied for theatrical distribution. Abrams use of the word “dedicated” certainly seems like a dig at how the attempt to shoehorn Cloverfield Paradox into the franchise turned out and its sale to Netflix.
Overlord is scheduled for an October 26 release.
HHmmm :)