I remember back in 2008, J.J. confirmed that a sequel to Cloverfield would be in the works if there are some ideas that he thought would work and would stay true to the first film. Since then, we saw 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox. There were ideas that worked and ideas that didn't. With the next Cloverfield movie now in the works, there are only a couple of tidbits that we know about and those are that the next film will be a direct sequel to the 2008 movie and it will not be in the found footage style. So here are some ideas that I have that I would like to see explored in Cloverfield 2.
#1 Tagruato and T.I.D.O Wave
In the viral marketing for Cloverfield, there were two entities that were in opposition of each other: the Japanese mining company, Tagruato, and the environmental group, T.I.D.O. Wave. Like many environmental groups, T.I.D.O. Wave's mission is to protect the environment and have been trying to stop Tagruato's offshore mining operations. Due to T.I.D.O. Wave's interferences, Tagruato deemed them eco-terrorists.
If I remember correctly, T.I.D.O. Wave have been digging up dirt on Tagruato for years on their shady business practices. T.I.D.O. Wave discovered that Tagruato knew the monster existed and were using one of their drilling stations, the Chuai station, to study the monster and the seabed nectar, which is being used as an ingredient for their Slusho! drinks. However, the monster was disturbed from its slumber and destroyed the drilling station.
In the next movie, I would like to see all of this explored. I want to see how both Tagruato and T.I.D.O. Wave responded in the aftermath of the first movie. Did T.I.D.O. Wave get to expose Tagruato in court with the evidence they gathered? If so, was Tagruato punished for it or were they let off the hook? Or was Tagruato prepared for a legal battle just in case T.I.D.O. Wave tried to expose them?
#2 The Monster:
While we love some conspiracies and coverups, we must not forget about the monster that started the whole debacle in the first place. Here is what we know about the monster from Cloverfield and The Cloverfield Paradox.
The Clover monster in Cloverfield is dead.
The monster in Cloverfield was just a baby and Paradox has shown that a full grown adult can reach around 6000 feet tall.
Clover comes from a different reality.
and it carries dog sized parasites on its back.
Based on these four tidbits, there are still a lot of questions about Clover that we don't know about. If the monster in the first movie is a baby, then where is the mother/father? Will they be as big as the one in Paradox or will the size down the parent a few meters? Does Clover have any abilities that were not shown in Cloverfield and Paradox? If Tagruato knew about Clover, are there any other monsters Tagruato knew about and are currently studying?
#3 9/11 References:
The 1954 movie, Gojira, was a reminder of the horrors of the atom bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ever since then the environmental and anti-nuclear themes have stayed consistent to present day. Cloverfield is a reminder of the horrors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the next movie needs to keep the same theme to stay consistent. It has been thirteen years since Cloverfield was released and Cloverfield 2 needs to reflect the aftermath of the first movie. Imagine if in the sequel, the movie is set on the same day as the first movie and we see people in New York City surrounding a memorial to honor everyone that died and the news is replaying some of the clips of the monster attack as a way to remember those events.
Imagine if we saw some names like Hud, Marlena, Jason, Rob, and Beth (those are the names of the characters from the first movie) and then we saw Lily (the only survivor in the first movie) crying upon seeing those names since those were her friends and loved ones on the memorial.
What would make the themes of 9/11 more grounded and even terrifying is if the world has been in an endless war with these monsters just like how the war on terror in the middle east seemed endless. Just because the military were able to kill one baby Clover monster, does not mean that there aren't more of them roaming around somewhere sending the parasites to terrorize and kill people just like Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups keep sending their followers to attack American soldiers and innocent people that don't follow their regime.
#4 Viral Marketing:
Just like in the past three Cloverfield movies, viral marketing is to be expected and will be integrated some how into this movie. If you were one of the people that hunted down clues in the viral marketing, then there is no doubt you will be returning to hunt for the clues.
What I want to see is the viral marketing actually integrated into the movie. Have the movie reference previous viral marketing clues like the Chuai station sinking, Slusho!, or the "Missing Teddy Hanssen" website. I would like the movie to show that all of this viral marketing is actually part of a much larger story that the general audience has missed out on.
Take the previous clues from Cloverfield, expand on them in the trailers with little hint drops, and then have the movie reference them. For instance, one character could say, "I have been digging through this strange blog website called Jamie and Teddy and it looks like she was in contact with T.I.D.O Wave to look for answers of her lover's whereabouts and didn't take their response kindly," and then we see the photo of Clover destroying the Chuai station. Stuff like that can certainly make the story in the next movie feel a whole lot bigger.
#5 Monster Battles:
Like many monster movies, you gotta have monster battles to keep the movie interesting. Watching monsters wrestle is one of the big highlights in a monster movie. Why else would everyone be excited for Godzilla vs Kong? It is mainly to watch Godzilla and Kong, the two most iconic monsters in the history of cinema, fight each other in an epic rematch. To see which one is truly the strongest monster.
In Cloverfield, we didn't really get to see what Clover can do. Since the Clover monster in the first movie was just a baby, its only option was to run away from the military. By introducing another monster, we can finally see what Clover would do if confronted. We can see how Clover thinks and how it fights. Would it use brute strength or would it use the environment to fight?
Since these monsters and aliens are from other dimensions, imagine if Clover came across the aliens from 10 Cloverfield Lane and Clover lunged at the ships to attack and the aliens on the ground are forced to fight the parasites. Or perhaps a better way to illustrate how Clover fights in combat is to introduce a new monster. One that rivals Clover's strength and aggression.
Those are my ideas for Cloverfield 2, but I want to know what you want to see in the sequel. Is there a story or story elements that you would like to see explored? Let me know in the comments section on what you want to see in the sequel. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Minds, MeWe, and Gab to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.