'True' Cloverfield Sequel is in the works

via Comicbook

We've waited ten years. It may be finally happening.

CinemaCon has brought us more news than Overlord's departure as fourth film in the Cloverfield Universe.

Paramount and JJ Abrams have confirmed that they are finally 'developing a true, dedicated Cloverfield sequel.' This was announced after Overlord was confirmed to NOT be the fourth film in the franchise. Abrams has said that this film is coming 'very soon' to theatres, but with no clear release date or official press for the film so far, we don't know when. The theatre release for this 4th instalment is in stark contrast to the previous entry in the series, The Cloverfield Paradox, which had a direct to Netflix release straight after the Super Bowl in early February this year.

But what should we expect from this 'true sequel'? While the plot is only to be speculated, we can only guess that the Cloverfield monster will make an appearance again. Whether or not we will see the fate of our original characters (including Beth, Rob and Lily), we will have to wait and see.

Overlord is not Cloverfield 4

Official Overlord photo, unveiled at CinemaCon.

Via Reddit (reddit.com/r/cloververse)

JJ Abram's comments at CinemaCon have confirmed that the aforementioned film 'Overlord' is NOT the fourth film in the Cloverfield Universe. This comes after Abrams unveiled footage for the WWII horror/thriller, including revealing the film to be R rated. This will be Bad Robot's first R-Rated Feature. Vulture has quoted JJ's thoughts on the matter: 

"Because it is R-rated, I can describe it as bats**t crazy," Abrams said. "It is a crazy sci-fi, action, horror film that takes place in World War II, directed by Julius Avery. It is super fun. We're really excited about it."

The filmmaker was quick to qualify: "It's not a Cloverfield movie. We are developing a true, dedicated Cloverfield movie soon."- (via Vulture.com)

In terms of the reason why Overlord has been pulled from the Cloverfield Universe we can only speculate, however many fans have linked it to the critical outcome of the previous film in the series, The Cloverfield Paradox. While this remains unconfirmed, it may play a factor in Bad Robot's decision.

Overlord is set to hit theatres on October 26th, and stars Jovan Adepo, Jacob Anderson, Pilou Asbæk, Iain De Caestecker, John Magaro, Wyatt Russell and Bokeem Woodbine. 

All Updates to 04182028.com

Since our initial article on 04182028.com, the site was updates numerous times during the ARG. The following will be all the updates to the site in chronological order, starting with the discovery of the site. To find out more about how the entire ARG progressed, check out reddit user u/blueonred, who helpfully created a whole thread outlining it. The Youtube channel 'Cloververse' has also collected all the videos from the Cloverfield movies ARGs spanning 2007-present. All videos seen and connected with 04182028 are available there.



01/19/18

Initial 04182028 site is found. Our article on it is available here.

01/24/18

04182028.com is updated with a new video. The visual aspect is still mostly distorted, with a few new frames of the figure visible in video 1.

The transcript for the video seemed to be a news broadcaster:

"Welcome to the show... Cloverfield Station...joining us today...controversy... Mark Stambler, author of the book..."

01/27/18

This update to 04182028.com welcomed a new video with cleaner audio. The same figure that was in videos 1 & 2 (the consensus being that this IS Mark Stambler) is seen more consistently.

The transcript for the video:

"Woman (interviewer): Your thoughts, Professor Mark Stambler?

Mark Stambler: ... because of Tagruato... Everything that's happened, I was right. The CEI was a lie, just like I predicted in my book, the Clover-"

CEI we know is in reference to the Cloverfield Energy Initiative, that was printed on official Tagruato brochures included in the delivery of the Slusho! Truck bobbleheads.


01/30/18

04182028.com is updated once again. These updated have been coming frequently and fast, living little time to absorb information fully before the next update is flung upon us. This new video seems to suggest someone talking about a social media hoax. It mentions a location and a lamp. The transcript reads:

"... This is a social media hoax... social medium, my email...why does this have to happen again... third floor, by the lamp."



02/04/18

The trailer for The Cloverfield Paradox premieres at the Super Bowl, and in a massive twist the movie is released after the games ends on Netflix. 04182028.com is also updated. In the newest video, Mark Stambler (who is being interviewed by the woman we heard in earlier videos) reveals his book, titled 'The Cloverfield Paradox'.

Video Transcript:

"The experiment could unleash chaos, the likes of which we have never seen. You have no idea how much I would love to be wrong about this. It would be no fun for me to be right. If you want to know more, read my book..."





In The Cloverfield Paradox 
(Minor spoilers ahead for one scene in the Cloverfield Paradox)

During The Cloverfield Paradox, the distorted videos we have been seeing finally
come together in a scene taking place aboard the Shepard.

Mark Stambler is being interviewed live and we finally get to see the complete video, with proper audio and visual quality.

The interview is often cut away from or spoken over in the film, but the transcript for the interview seems to read:

Woman: Another test aboard the Cloverfield Space Station. The 47th test in just over two years is scheduled for 8:00am Eastern Standard Time. All eyes are on--

Mark Stambler: Right this minute, they are testing a particle accelerator up there, so we can learn how to make unlimited energy down here. But those who have accepted the

Woman: Why does this accelerator worry you so much? 
Mark Stambler: Because that accelerator is 1000 times more powerful than any ever built. Every time they test it, they risk ripping open the membrane of space time, smashing together multiple dimensions, shattering reality. And not just on that station, everywhere. This experiment could unleash chaos... the likes of which we have never seen. Monsters, demons, beasts from the sea-

Woman: To clarify, you believe their efforts to solve the energy crisis might unleash demons?

Mark Stambler: Yeah. Oh, yeah. 

Mark Stambler: And not just here and now... in the past, in the future, in other dimensions. You have no idea how much I would love to be wrong about this. 

Mark Stambler: If you want to know more... read my book--

Suzanne Cryer, also newswoman in The Cloverfield Paradox

Note some small and interesting points in the scene:

- The woman interviewing Mark Stambler is actress Suzanne Cryer, who played the woman trying to get into the bunker in 10 Cloverfield Lane.


- The @Paradox_Is_Real account (that is seen under Mark Stambler on the screen in the movie) is real account on Twitter, created in January 2018. Currently there is no content on the page. The official Cloverfield Paradox twitter page recently tweeted this in reply to Chris O'Dowd (one of the actors in TCP)-

Hinting at the fact that this is either a still more of the ARG still to come, or a cheeky wink to the audience and ARG players. This is where 04182028 has led us, up to this moment.

Cloverfield Paradox Q&A w/ JJ Abrams, Julius OInah, David Oyelowo, & Roger Davies

The Cloverfield Paradox facebook page held a live Q&A with the filmmakers and cast: JJ Abrams, Julius OInah, David Oyelowo, & Roger Davies.

Cloverfield Paradox to debut on Netflix TONIGHT after the Super Bowl

While the Cloverfield Paradox trailer said "Coming Very Soon", the Netflix iOS app says that Cloverfield 3 will be available TONIGHT, after the Super Bowl. 

* Thanks to Kevin S for the tip!

The Cloverfield Paradox Superbowl Trailer

Here is the trailer for Cloverfield 3, which is now officially called "The Cloverfield Paradox".

The trailer also confirms the rumor that it will go straight to Netflix, and NOT be shown in theaters.

Tagruato Update - Road Closure

The Tagruato website was updated again today, with an image of an Israeli news article from 1/30/2007 which, according to Redditors snirOP & AlphaFalccon, discusses a road being closed for several weeks.

Scrawled across the article is another warning message from TIDO Wave:

TAGRUATO'S REAL REASON TO STEAL THE REST OF THE WORLD'S ENERGY. THEY'VE SPENT TWENTY YEARS (????) TO OPEN IT. NO MATTER THE COST TO THE WORLD. 

Cloverfield 3 ARG 04182028.com Website

A new website has been discovered, found through deciphering information in the distorted text underneath the error message on tagruato.jp. Reddit users Camille and MagicJesus were able to break down the text, finding that it reads-

Tokyo – January 18 2018: Tagruato has begun development on a revolutionary new energy technology in what Ceo Ganu Yoshida called a technological great leap forward for our planet. This renewable technology will take at least 4 years to complete along with another six years International regulatory bodies to bring the powerful revolutionary energy source by April 18 2028.

From there, 04182028.com was discovered using the date (April 18th, 2028) similar to the original Cloverfield's infamous 1-18-08 site. On the website was a 11 second video, featuring distorted images and audio, including frames where a face is clearly visible. The video is available here. 



The audio from the video was then examined extensively, resulting in words being distinguishing-able. Reddit and Discord users have so far been able to discern the following-

"...That is why I'm trying to warn you about the dangers of what Tagruato is trying to do..." 

The end of the message is much harder to hear, though it is speculated it reads-

Helios Spacecraft

"That is why we must now battle to save the helios." (Which would make sense as the Helios are a pair of spacecraft probes launched into orbit to study solar processes, and could relate to the 3rd Cloverfield film). 

For now we are still trying to examine every aspect of the video and see if we can find any other clues, messages or codes within the video.

*The link above is to our mirror of the original 1-18-08 site. DO NOT go to the original 1-18-08 website anymore. The domain expired and is no longer controlled by Paramount, and someone else snatched it up to run ads with malware.

Slusho Truck Update, Bobbleheads and Brochures

A Slusho truck appeared at Comic-Con last July, and was giving out free drinks, and other surprises. Some people that were there are now receiving Tagruato swag in the mail. Imgur user narciee shows the unboxing of their package.

The return address of the package is listed as Tonopah, AZ, which was one of the stops of the Slusho Truck, and also the site of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

Just like in the original Cloverfield ARG, the items were wrapped in a Japanese newspaper.

The package contained a Slusho Bobblehead, a certificate of authenticity, and a Tagruato brochure explaining the Cloverfield Energy Initiative (CEI). The brochure also mentions: Seabed Nectar (aka Kaitei No Mitsu), Quantum Biology, Exo-meteorology, centrifugal force-based artificial gravity.

 

Here is the full text of the brochure:

Overlord is Cloverfield 4

Let the 'Cloverlord' theories begin...

It seems that the fourth film in the Cloververse has been confirmed to be the movie 'Overlord', and the movie has already been filmed! There was some speculation in early 2017 that this would be the case, but the rumour was not confirmed... until today.

Overlord is reported to be a World War II mystery/thriller, starring Wyatt Russell (who previously worked with Dan Trachtenberg on the Black Mirror episode 'Playtest'), Jovan Adepo, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob Anderson and more. The synopsis for the movie reads:

"On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to carry out a mission crucial to the invasion's success. But as they approach their target, they begin to realise there is more going on in this Nazi-opccupied village than a simple military operation. They find themselves fighting against Supernatural forces, part of a Nazi experiment."

Overlord is directed by Julius Avery and is set to release October 26th of this year, but considering the delays on the third film and the fact that there is only a matter of months between the two movies, it would not be surprising to see Overlord delayed, possibly into 2019.

The premise of having a Cloverfield film that is set before the first movie will be a new and refreshing instalment in the series, perhaps providing some backstory or origin to the first film.

 While the movie has been wrapped under a heavy layer of secrecy, like all both Cloverfield movies before it, some pictures of the set & cast have been uploaded to IMDB. You can see those photos here. Some pictures were also also found coming from the crew of Overlord (via Instagram), presumably when the film had wrapped. They used the hashtag #overlordmovie.

Tagruato Update - Cloverfield Energy Initiative

The Tagruato.jp website has been updated again, with another new error message.

The latest memo talks about "The Cloverfield Energy Initiative", which will reshape "the way we power the world". Whatever this project is, someone is trying to stop it (TIDO Wave?).

There is a warning message scrawled across the tap which might read (according to DamienJohn of Reddit):

SOMEONE MUST STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING! THIS IS NOTHING BUT A COVER FOR A RECKLESS EXPERIMENT THAT WILL RESET THE WORLD'S GRID. STOP THIS TO SAVE THE WORLD.  

T.I.D.O. WAVE

Tagruato Update - Oslo Memo

The Tagruato.jp website has been updated again, with another new error message.

While there doesn't appear to be anything to the error message itself, you can separate it from the underlying page, which reveals some interesting information, although it is mostly distorted.

The 'Olso" memo, dated January 22, 2022, talks about an "Energy Revolution" and mentions the companies "Oslo One" and "Norway Renewable".

It also mentions 'something' being added at record pace, by a ‘Paulo Hydroelectric’.

The rest of the memo is hard to make out.

* thanks to Keith Hill for emailing about the update!

Cloverfield 3 ARG has begun at Tagruato! - Updated

The Tagruato.jp website has been updated, so it looks like the ARG (Alternate Reality Game) for Cloverfield 3 may be underway.

Tagruato is the fictional parent company to Slusho!, the frozen beverage featured prominently in the original Cloverfield ARG.

While the website doesn't appear to do anything at first glance, maybe there is something to the error message:

06110-.,&0tm_auth=6l0H7iMgYrWnr6ciiW69zg&gt6_pre2028%-66*nt--d0--18,=--..,.,n-0061026873966

UPDATE: The image on Tagruato.jp has changed slightly, and the error message is also different:

* thanks to Melodyman and Yob Led for emailing about this!

Happy 10th Birthday 1-18-08

This January marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of Cloverfield on January 18th, 2008.

In terms of the A.R.G, it's been over ten years since the original trailer premiered and viral marketing sites like 1-18-08*, Tagruato, Slusho, TidoWave were found. Who knew that we would still be anticipating the third film 10 years later?

10 Cloverfield Lane came as a pleasant surprise in early 2016, sporting another Alternate Reality Game, 8 years after the first film in the Cloververse. Hopefully the 're-branding' of the Cloververse as an anthology series means we can expect more original films in the future, under the umbrella of the Cloverfield name. As JJ Abrams stated in an interview with Vanity Fair:

"It's like Cloverfield is the amusement park, and each of these movies is a different ride in that park."

After the past entries in the Cloververse, it's exciting to anticipate what the future of the series will hold, especially with the plans that JJ Abrams has for the Cloververse.

So here's a thank you to all the blog-readers, Unfictioners, Redditors and internet-scavengers that have been here from the beginning, for 10 long years. Here's to anyone who has joined along the way. And here's to anyone who will find us in the future. Welcome to the world of Cloverfield... and always remember:

It's a lion, and it's huge.

Happy 1-18-18.


*The link above is to our mirror of the original 1-18-08 site. DO NOT go to the original 1-18-08 website anymore. The domain expired and is no longer controlled by Paramount, and someone else snatched it up to run ads with malware.

Cloverfield 3 Update- Now coming April 20th

After another delay, the third Cloverfield Movie (still currently untitled) is now scheduled to hit theatres on April 20th, 2018. 

Paramount Pictures has confirmed that the highly anticipated third Cloverfield movie has now been delayed for the third time. Ever since the Slusho Truck appeared at San Diego Comic-Con, we've been eagerly awaiting the next step in the third movies Alternate Reality Game. However, there hasn't been any progression within the ARG or the marketing for the film, with no trailer, poster or promotional material being released. 

Since this most recent delay, we are looking forward to hopefully receiving all of the above in the next coming months, in time for the April 20th release date.