TheCloverfieldfranchise still has a loyal fanbase interested in more stories of survival and horror, but there hasn’t been a movie from this world since 2018. The sci-fi genre is home to some of the most profitable and popular franchises in film history, among them J.J. Abrams and Drew Goddard’sCloverfielduniverse. The franchise began in 2008 withCloverfield, a found-footage monster horror movie directed by Matt Reeves.Cloverfieldfollows six New York City residents who must find a way to survive a massive monsterthat has attacked the city.
In addition to this, smaller creatures are attacking at different points in the city, making it even harder for them to find safety, and there are hostile parasites infecting humans.Cloverfieldwas a critical and commercial success, grossing $172.4 million against a $30 million budget. Despite there still being interest in moreCloverfieldmovies, the franchise has been quiet since 2018, though not without rumors of what a future movie could be about or if it’s already secretly in the works. The future of the franchise is unclear at the moment, but with good reason.
10 Cloverfield Lane Made Cloverfield Into A Franchise
Cloverfield Is Now A Franchise Beyond Movies
Cloverfieldwas praised for its found-footage style, through which it amped up the suspense, its pace, scare factor, and creativity, and it was even more popular due to its viral marketing campaign. Luckily, all the hype built by the very creative and clever marketing campaign forCloverfieldpaid off, and the movie is now regarded among thebest monster movies of all time. The success ofCloverfieldled to it becoming a franchise, first with the mangaCloverfield/Kishin, serving as a parallel prequel/sequel to the movie, and later with the movie10 Cloverfield Lane, released in 2016.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg,10 Cloverfield Lanefollows Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who, after a car accident, awakens with an injured leg and chained in a bunker. Her captor, Howard (John Goodman), explains to her that he saved her life, as there was an attack that left the surface of Earth uninhabitable.10 Cloverfield Lanewas a critical and commercial success, and it’s the highest-rated movie in the franchise. It’s important to remember, however, that10 Cloverfield Laneisn’t a sequel toCloverfield.
Instead, it’s a standalone story within the universe ofCloverfield, as Michelle, Howard, and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr) are facing a different yet very similar threat to that in the previous movie.10 Cloverfield Lanewas the first step towards building theCloverfieldfranchise, and its success is what properly built it, as a third movie was greenlit, but it wasn’t at the level of its predecessors.
10 Cloverfield Lane Ending Explained - How It Connects To Cloverfield’s Monster
10 Cloverfield Lane’s ending sees Michelle escape the bunker, only to find that the world isn’t at all safe - but what does the divisive ending mean?
The Cloverfield Paradox Brought The Franchise Back But Was Critically Panned
The Cloverfield Paradox Was A Surprise, But Not A Successful One
Like its predecessors, the production of and details aboutThe Cloverfield Paradoxwere kept secret, and its release was a big surprise. The trailer forThe Cloverfield Paradoxwas released on Aug 12, 2025, during the Super Bowl LII, in which it was also announced that Netflix had acquired the film’s rights and that the movie would be available to stream immediately after the game. Of course, this caused a lot of curiosity and interest inThe Cloverfield Paradox, but it didn’t have the same success as the previous movies.
The Cloverfield Paradoxis the lowest-ratedCloverfieldmovie to date, and it’s considered the weakest movie in the franchise. While critics praised the casting and the performances,the most criticized points were the storylines, the mixed genres, and the many questions it left. While its marketing plan was praised, this was also a big reason whyThe Cloverfield Paradoxwasn’t well-received by critics, asthe trailer created expectations that the movie ultimately didn’t meet. Many expected it to explain the origin of the monster, and while it did provide a reason, it also left many unanswered questions.
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Cloverfield Has Yet To Get A Direct Sequel 17 Years Later
Cloverfield Never Got A Proper Continuation
Despite having10 Cloverfield LaneandThe Cloverfield Paradox,the firstCloverfieldmovie hasn’t gotten a proper sequel yet. As mentioned above,10 Cloverfield Laneisn’t a sequel, but it’s set in the same universe asCloverfield– however, its place in the timeline isn’t clear, andThe Cloverfield Paradoxdidn’t make it any easier to place.The Cloverfield Paradoxserves as both a sequel and prequel toCloverfielddue to its time setting in the future and its alternate universes reveal, yetit still isn’t a direct sequelto the first movie.
How All The Cloverfield Movies Connect
What is The Cloverfield Paradox and how does it connect to the 2008 original and 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane? We explain the franchise’s timeline.
The possibilities for a properCloverfieldsequel have been teased since the movie came out, with Matt Reeves tellingBloody Disgustingthat what we see inCloverfieldsurely wasn’t the only movie made that night, and others definitely recorded their own fights for survival. Since then, Reeves and Abrams have teased the development ofCloverfield 2, and in 2022, Babak Anvari was signed on to direct the project. In 2023,Reeves shared that the ongoing developments onCloverfield 2won’t be talked about before its release, as they want it to be a surprise, just like the previous movies.
What The Next Cloverfield Movie Is Going To Be
What Could The Future Of Cloverfield Be Like?
If all the teases about a properCloverfieldsequel are to be believed, thenit’s very possible that the nextCloverfieldmovie will be the long-awaited direct sequelto the first film. However, as Reeves mentioned, its release would surely be a surprise, but following the example of the previous movies, fans can expect a very creative marketing campaign accompanying it.Plot details aboutCloverfield 2are unknown (and will surely remain as such until the movie’s release), but it’s expected to solve the franchise’s biggest mysteries and properly place the previous movies into the timeline.
The Biggest Questions Cloverfield 2 Must Answer
Cloverfield is officially getting a proper sequel. Here are the biggest unanswered questions Cloverfield 2 must answer from the franchise.
Of course, Abrams and company could surprise the audience with yet anotherCloverfieldmovie not directly tied to the first movie or the other movies.The parallel universes reveal inThe Cloverfield Paradoxgives plenty of optionsfor a futureCloverfieldmovie, which would be worth exploring at some point. At the time of writing, there haven’t been more updates on the development ofCloverfield 2or another movie (then again, one of them might already be in active development right now), so the future of the franchise remains unclear.
