Deadline reports that Paramount has a new “Cloverfield” movie on the way, the first since 2018’s “The Cloverfield Paradox.” And the studio has a filmmaker on the rise to helm it: indie horror director Babak Anvari.
Anvari directs the new film that boasts a script from “Gara/Hiji” writer Joe Barton. J.J. Abrams produces through Bad Robot with Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen. Abram’s usual producer Byran Burk will executive produce with filmmakers Matt Reeves and Drew Goddard.
The latest “Cloverfield” movie follows in the footsteps of its forebears with its plot details being kept a secret. That’s a big part of the franchise: sudden release and oblique connections between the films. It’s unclear if the upcoming movie is a direct sequel to the 2008 original or an anthology film, but that keeps the mystery of these films intact. However, this is Paramount’s first announcement of a “Cloverfield” project with advance notice. Paramount made the previous two sequels under different titles until their trailers unveiled them as part of the franchise. So, this is something new.
Anvari made a big splash with his feature film debut, “Under The Shadow.” However, his sophomore feature “Wounds” with Armie Hammer and Zazie Beetz didn’t do so well, having a lackluster world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and screening at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight before being dumped onto Hulu later that year. But “I Came By,” his recent thriller for Netflix, has helped regain his critical reception. On top of this “Cloverfield” project, his first major studio film, Anvari also has a TV development deal at AMC.
But will Anvari’s “Cloverfield” movie be a Netflix vehicle like “The Cloverfield Paradox”? It’s unclear right now, but that’s how this franchise operates—more updates on this project soon.