Cloverfield: new film will be a sequel to the original

The Cloverfield franchise has been a phenomenon since its debut in 2008 with the film directed by Matt Reeves, most recently known for his work on The Batman. This film became a benchmark for monster movies and spawned a series of connected films exploring different aspects of the Cloverfield universe. These include Dan Trachtenberg's 10 Cloverfield Lane and Julius Onah's The Cloverfield Paradox.

A new movie in the Cloverfield universe has been official for a year now and Babak Anvari will direct it. In addition, J.J. Abrams and his company Bad Robot will produce the film. Despite the announcement, many details about this highly anticipated is still under wraps.

Recently, director Dan Trachtenberg, revealed in an interview with CinemaBlend that this new film will be a direct sequel to the original film. In his own words, he stated, "The sequel is to the original Cloverfield movie. But for our movie, I would still be totally open to it."

Trachtenberg also expressed interest in returning to the franchise and mentioned the possibility that Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. His Dream Girl's Exes), might be interested in rejoining the project: "I think she (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) would. We talked a little bit about 'what if' scenarios. And then I was drawn to the idea, all the filmmakers were drawn to other things. But I would still consider it, but you never know. The sequel they're doing is really cool."

While news on the new Cloverfield installment remains scarce, it's clear that this film will mark a change in direction for the franchise, as the films have so far featured anthology stories.