Much like The Cellar, which eventually became 10 Cloverfield Lane, the upcoming sci-fi God Particle is set to fall under the Cloverfield banner, a Twilight Zone-esque series of movies taking place within the Cloverfield universe. And, speaking to Collider, screenwriter Oren Uziel has revealed how his original script came to be a part of the ‘Cloververse’.
“It was written before 10 Cloverfield Lane and the expanded Cloverfield universe even existed as a thing,” said Uziel. “It was a spec that I wrote probably a year or so after Shimmer Lake, so it definitely existed as its own science-fiction. And then after years of, you know how scripts kind of hang around—people like them but for whatever reason they decided to make it and then suddenly everything fell into place with J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot, and Paramount. I don’t know exactly when it became a Cloverfield movie, but I suspect in this current market where it’s just harder and harder to market an original movie of any kind, a science-fiction movie in particular, but I think everyone just knew if it fits—and it does—into that Cloverfield world, it should, and it can only help.”
As for how the film changed once it was decided to add the Cloverfield name, Uziel responded that: “We rewrote during production, but I’m not sure what it means to be part of the expanded Cloverfield universe, other than knowing what kind of quality and feel you’re gonna get from something that’s coming out of Bad Robot and J.J. It just sort of helps to give an understanding of like, ‘Okay I understand what type of movie this is gonna be.’ As far as specifics, I don’t think there is one specific thread that makes it a Cloverfield movie, I guess. I think if you can get that off the ground, which they are close, it’s very smart and also great for makers of science-fiction because it relieves you of that burden of like, ‘How are we gonna get people to get off their asses and into the movie theater to see something they’re not sure?’ It’s not a guarantee; the cast is different, we don’t know exactly what we’re getting, but if that stamp of approval of being part of the Cloverfield universe is enough, that’s a huge win. So I’m all for it.”
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Uziel also drew comparisons to The Twilight Zone, adding that: “When you turn on The Twilight Zone, that’s sort of the way I think about it. I don’t know what this story is going to be, but I know it’s going to be a Twilight Zone story… It’s like an anthology for those kinds of movies, and I think if J.J., if what he’s doing is positioning himself a little bit to be the Rod Serling of J.J.-type science-fiction movies, more power to him.”
God Particle – or rather the Untitled Cloverfield Movie – is being directed by Julis Onah (The Girl Is in Trouble) and reportedly follows the crew of “a space station who find themselves alone after a scientific experiment causes Earth to disappear. When a space shuttle appears, the space station crew must determine if those aboard are friend or foe.”
The film is set for release on October 27th and features a cast that includes David Oyelowo (Selma), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Concussion), John Krasinski (13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi), Elizabeth Debicki (The Night Manager), Daniel Bruhl (Captain America: Civil War), Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) and Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
Originally published May 21, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
