overload cloverfield 4

Oh, what a tangled web Bad Robot weaves…

If you’ve been following this site over the last month or so, you may have caught our coverage of the frankly perplexing state of ‘God Particle’, the upcoming third installment of the ‘Cloverfield’ franchise (the films is also known by the rumored title ‘Cloverfield Station’). To recap, the film (which follows a team of astronauts who find themselves stranded on a space station when Earth seemingly vanishes during an experiment with a particle accelerator) completed principal photography in 2016 for an early 2017 release. It was then delayed to February 2018, but with barely a month to spare and not a hint of promotion (no trailers, stills, one-sheets, nothing), the film was pushed back to April, with subsequent rumors suggesting that it may bypass theaters entirely in favor of a direct to Netflix release.

But even as that bizarre drama unfolds, work on ‘Cloverfield 4’ is apparently well underway. Last year, Bad Robot and Paramount announced a World War II movie called ‘Overlord‘. While that setting might sound like a bit of a departure for Bad Robot, a production company so closely associated with science fiction, the official synopsis hinted that there was more to it than meets the eye:

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 realize that there is more going on in this Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation. They find themselves fighting against supernatural forces, part of a Nazi experiment.

Ever since the announcement, fans and pundits alike have speculated that the film may be a future installment in the loosely connected ‘Cloverfield’ anthology. After all, both ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘ and ‘God Particle‘/’Cloverfield Station’ both began life as unrelated projects before being folded under the ‘Cloverfield’ banner. Now, SlashFilm is reporting that their unspecified sources have confirmed that not only will the film be a part of the so-called Cloververse, but it has already completed production.

‘God Particle’ / ‘Cloverfield Station’ (or whatever they end up calling it) was directed by Julius Onah and stars Daniel Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O’Dowd, David Oyelowo, Zhang Ziyi, and others. It is currently set for release on April 20, 2018, but this writer will believe it when he sees it.

As for ‘Overlord’, the film stars Wyatt Russell and Jovan Adepo, and is directed by Julius Avery.  According to Box Office Mojo, it is currently set for release on October 26, 2018, but it may be best to take that with a grain of salt for the moment.

Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on these and other upcoming ‘Cloverfield’ projects as it becomes available!