Originally an entirely different film, J.J. Abrams and crew reimagined 10 Cloverfield Lane to fit as a part of what has now become a Cloverfield franchise, though details on what exactly that means remain scarce. Abrams says the film takes place in the same world and is a "blood relative" to the original film, but the big question on everybody's minds is simple: does it or does it not have a giant monster?
According to J.J. Abrams, the film does feature monsters, but not the massive creature seen in the first Cloverfield. He says as much in a new interview with Fandango.
"The story of this movie — and it came to us originally as a spec that was very different in a lot of ways and an unrelated thing altogether — is definitely about different kinds of monsters," Abrams says. "And while the Cloverfield monster isn't in this movie, there's a new monster and there's something else that happens ... but I don't want to ruin the ending."
Does that mean there is a new giant monster in 10 Cloverfield Lane? Is Abrams talking about the smaller creatures from the first film? Or is he referring to a more symbolic monster, as is implied by the film's marketing tagline "Monsters come in many forms?" In that context, Abrams is likely talking about John Goodman's character, who keeps Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character trapped in an underground bunker for reasons that aren't yet clear.
Abrams also tells Fandango that there is definitely a reason 10 Cloverfield Lane isn't called Cloverfield 2.
"This movie is very purposefully not called Cloverfield 2, because it's not Cloverfield 2," he says. "The association is clear and there are multiple connections — and there is a bigger idea at play for us with these movies and this connection."
From what fans have gathered so far, the characters in the film look to be taking shelter from some kind of catastrophic event, very likely the monster attack from the first film, radiation left behind by the monster (or from nuclear weapons to defeat it) or some as-of-yet-unexplained phenomenon.
Might a proper Cloverfield 2 ever happen? Abrams says it isn't off the table, and that "there is something larger at play" and if the chance arises for him to work on it in the future, it "could result in something pretty cool." As for what that might be, we'll have to wait to find out.
10 Cloverfield Lane is in theaters March 11.
