In producing a sequel to any hit flick, you are destined to make a better movie than you ever have before. Or at least that’s what J.J. Abrams seems to think, following the circle jerk around his success for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Sequels to horror movies have always been a success in this vein because no one who goes to see a horror movie in theaters is really expecting it to be that great.
It’s been eight years since Cloverfield took the screen by storm. While I can never remember seeing the movie (though I know I did), I can vividly remember the six months when all conversation in my age bracket was saturated with talk of the PG-13 flick. I mean, come on, it was one of the first PG-13 movies we could get into without feeling the need to sneak in.
But eight years later, it’s mostly been thrown to the wayside and forgotten by everyone except IMDb and producer J.J. Abrams himself. Back before Cloverfield was even released, cryptic marketing tactics were used in trap the viewer. When Transformers still had a prayer at being a decent movie, J.J. Abrams capitalized on his target audience of less than critical viewers by releasing a surprise no-name trailer for the 2008 Cloverfield.
Taking cue from his old playbook, Friday morning Abrams took to introduce another unanticipated trailer for his new film, 10 Cloverfield Drive. And how did he release it? None other than right before Michael Bay’s newest explosive film, 13 Hours. While the details are still murky, some things are known with a plot summary released prior to the trailer. The film is set to star John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. It’s odd for a sequel to abandon its original cast entirely right?
Updated: Is it a sequel?
Not so fast. The film was rumored to have been a project called Valencia or The Cellar. However, according to Abrams, 10 Cloverfield Drive is not so much a direct sequel as it is a “blood relative” of his previous success.