13 years after its release, the J.J. Abrams-produced Cloverfield is finally getting a direct sequel. Fans have been holding out for an immediate continuation of the story for years but had nearly given up hope after Cloverfield decided to move forward with indirect sequels. What changed the direction of the franchise after all this time?
The original Cloverfield revitalized the found footage genre for a new generation, making it a sleeper hit upon its release. The horror movie followed a group of friends attempting to survive a sudden monster attack in New York City. Fans were taken for a loop when 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane continued the series in a sly and creative manner, but they were a little less than pleased with the release of the critically-panned Cloverfield Paradox. After such negative reviews, it seemed like the franchise wouldn't continue. But despite that, Abrams' production company Bad Robot had insisted for years that a proper Cloverfield sequel would happen.
Cloverfield 2's announcement was the sudden light at the seemingly endless dark tunnel. At the time of writing, there hasn't been any explicit reason for the sequel's delayed production. But it appears there were a host of logistical reasons that kept the sequel from happening for more than a decade.
A Cloverfield sequel was first announced in 2018. Nothing was released about the upcoming film at the time of the announcement other than the fact that it'd be a direct continuation of the first movie. But a wrinkle quickly disrupted that plan. Paramount Pictures had released each Cloverfield movie until that point - but in 2019, Bad Robot signed a massive deal with WarnerMedia. With that deal, Abrams' production company is exclusively bound to WarnerMedia. Since Paramount owned Cloverfield and Bad Robot produced each movie in the franchise, this set itself up to cause some major logistical issues.
The solution was never formally announced, but it's clear that Paramount Pictures and WarnerMedia have come to some agreement that allowed them to finally move forward. While it's an unusually long time to wait to make a direct sequel, the timing could not have been more perfect. Movies and television shows have increasingly been preying on nostalgia by producing more and more reboots. Cloverfield may not be a reboot, but since the original is 13 years old at this point, it hits on the same nerve. The horror movie continues to hold a cult following. Cloverfield has built an expansive meta universe over the course of more than a decade. Fans will likely be so eager to see how it will be continued that they'll forgive the large gap in time.