More news on the highly anticipated potential sequel to Cloverfield has arrived, as Deadline is reporting that Babak Anvari has joined the film as its director.
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The newest Cloverfield film comes 14 years after the original and four years after comments that J.J. Abrams made in 2018 about a “true” and “dedicated” sequel to the original film being released. Last year, it was announced that Joe Barton was hired on as screenwriter for the film, and now Anvari joins him and J.J. Abrams — who is producing the project alongside Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen — on the feature.
While a new Cloverfield film has been teased for some time by Abrams, this is the first time that Paramount Pictures has officially declared one in the works. As a result of this, plot details are currently being kept under wraps. Because of this, it’s unknown if the film will still be a true sequel to the original, although it seems as if Abrams would like to do one after having produced a handful of other films bearing the Cloverfield name, including the hit spin-off 10 Cloverfield Lane.
For Anvari, this will be his first major studio feature film, having previously worked on smaller, more arthouse films. His first film, Under the Shadow, earned him a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut Filmmaker, and his second film, Wounds, was released in 2019 on Hulu and starred Armie Hammer, Zazie Beets, and Dakota Johnson.
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The original Cloverfield was released in 2008 and immediately became something of a hit, earning a ton at the box office and also being praised for its original monster design and immense viral marketing campaign, which included a cryptic teaser trailer and numerous ARGs (alternate reality games) for fans to investigate.
