10 Cloverfield Lane was one of the most unique and unexpected long-gap sequels to come out over the past few years. Kept a secret until two months before the film's theatrical release, audiences and critics were surprised when it was completely and utterly different from the 2007 found-footage movie it was reportedly a follow-up to, featuring an entirely different cast as well. The film was then met with raving critical reviews when it was released, thanks to its interesting tonal combinations, and a spellbindingly villainous performance from John Goodman.

Producer J.J. Abrams has teased before that 10 Cloverfield Lane is just the beginning of a new anthology/Twilight Zone-esque set of sequels all set within the same world as each other, all possibly following different characters and telling entirely different stories. But even with that being said, it doesn't seem like hope for a direct sequel to 10 Cloverfield Lane has gone away by any means either.

While speaking with SyFy Wire at the TCA Winter Press Tour today the film's lead star, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, reiterated her desire to return to that world again and get another chance to continue her character, Michelle's story:

"I know that Dan and I would love to continue that story. The anthology series is where they are going with it, so whether or not that ever comes back to Michelle’s story, I’m not sure. But I know Dan always had more in mind, so I would love the opportunity to explore that. If anybody would ever let us do that, we would jump on it."

Now, it's hard to say whether or not Winstead's Michelle would ever return onscreen or not. As fans of the film will already know, she's the only character out of the main three who could logically return onscreen again in a future film (unless it was a prequel, of course). Based on fan reactions alone, it seems like a desire for her return is definitely there, at least. But at the same time, her story had a fairly complete arc from the beginning of the film to the end of it, starting with running away from her responsibilities and life to deciding she was going to volunteer to fight the alien invasion with the rest of the human survivors.

So instead of there being a direct sequel to 10 Cloverfield Lane, it seems more likely that Winstead could merely pop up as a supporting character or cameo in one of the other anthology films/stories that Abrams and the rest of the Bad Robot brain trust have in mind, since that seems more in line with what has previously been said about the universe. Either way, the world of Cloverfield came roaring back into the cinema last year with so much unprecedented style and finesse, that the interest to see where Abrams and company are planning on taking this universe next is palpable. The possibilities are limitless at this point, and whether or not a continuation of Michelle's story is one those possibilities, will just have to wait to be seen.

Source: SyFy Wire