This year marks the 15th anniversary of Cloverfield and ever since the movie's theatrical release on January 18, 2008 there were always questions about a direct sequel happening. Over the years, we did get 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox, but they were not direct sequels. The movies were supposed to kickstart an anthology series of movies using the Cloverfield name called the "Cloververse." After The Cloverfield Paradox was received very poorly, a direct sequel to the original 2008 movie is finally in the works under director Babak Anvari. After all these years, The Batman director Matt Reeves has come out to talk about Cloverfield and whether he will ever come back to direct another movie.
Matt Reeves has sat down with Collider, Uproxx, and Comic-Book.com to discuss Cloverfield. This is what he had to say about working on a sequel.
From Collider when asked about if he ever came close to making a sequel:
"Our schedule didn't quite line up in that way. We absolutely, right afterwards, were talking about it. I had a bunch of ideas. I know (writer) Drew [Goddard] had ideas. And I'm sure (producer) J.J. [Abrams] had ideas. And we were talking about stuff, but then we got swept into some other things, and we thought 'Well maybe we will come back to it.' And then we ended up finding other ways to do other iterations. But one of the things about the movie is, when we were shooting, I was really excited about the idea of the fact that we were in this restricted point of view of this one group, this one handycam. And so when we were on the Brooklyn Bridge, there's actually a moment where I have somebody filming Hud (played by T.J. Miller), and Hud filming that person, because then you realize, 'Wait, there's another story from that night.' "
"Just the idea that there are other perspectives and that the other perspectives could be other stories. That was kind of what was going on at the time we were making the movie. And then we talked about some things – some pretty cool ideas, actually, we talked about it – and then it just didn't… that part didn't come to fruition. But then we did other things and who knows what will happen in the future."
From Uproxx when asked if a sequel will ever happen and if he would ever return to do a sequel:
"It's Cloverfield, so I'm not allowed to talk about it ever. That's the whole point of Cloverfield. But I'll say this, anything is always possible and I'm certainly excited about the idea of doing another more. We've done a bunch now and I love it. It's really cool. But I can't really comment on actually what might happen in the future."
When asked by Comic-Book.com about returning to do a Cloverfield sequel this was his response:
"I have no idea. I'm super excited about us doing more, and I can't give you information about that of course because that's the way Cloverfield works. To be honest with you, you never know what you're going to do. Even though my work is all genre work, I have to feel something personal about it. Cloverfield is very much about my anxieties."
"That was the process that drew me in, that's what taught me how to shoot it, how to talk to the actors about what it was, because it was like trying to ground it from that perspective and make something crazy, fantastical, and genre, also feel real… I think if another story were to present itself where I was like 'Gosh, I have to tell that story.' It's not entirely impossible. I wouldn't say that's a for sure thing, but I would never say never."
I remember back when a sequel was first being brought up, Reeves and J.J. Abrams had talked about the idea of making the next movie about the guy that passed Hud on the Brooklyn Bridge and how the movie would cross with the first movie. I also remember another idea that was brought up once by J.J. that he had an idea for a movie about video footage from the perspective of the soldiers.
As Reeves has mentioned in other interviews, he has to have a personal feeling about certain events. In an interview with SyFy, he went into detail stating if he made another Cloverfield movie today it would be a virus movie to reflect the Post-Covid era. So if he ever does decide to return to direct a new entry a movie about a virus should be one idea to look out for.
The idea could work as a direct sequel if the monster is involved in some capacity. Maybe the parasites the monster carries could act as the main threat as they spread out killing people much like in the first movie, but on a more global scale; and there is a vaccine being developed to combat the bacteria from a parasite bite. Otherwise, he could also go the same route and make it an anthology movie that has little to no relation with the original Cloverfield.
I want to know what you think of Matt Reeves talking about Cloverfield 15 years later. Do you think he will ever come back to direct a new movie? Leave a comment in the comments section of your thoughts on Matt Reeves and Cloverfield. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.