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Cloverfield 3: Every Plot Secret From The Viral Marketing Campaign
J.J. Abrams may be keeping quiet about Cloverfield 3, but some pretty major story clues can be uncovered thanks to the viral marketing campaign. After years of speculation, a third entry in the sci-fi anthology series is finally coming. Once called God Particle and now expected to be retitled Cloverfield Station, the film is seemingly finally coming with an April 20, 2018 release date (although that could change if rumors of a Netflix purchase are true).
While many are still waiting for a trailer, the marketing has actually already started with the series’ now-classic viral campaign. Cloverfield 3‘s alternate-reality game (ARG) began in mid-January and has slowly expanded to provide a decade-spanning story of corporate wrongdoing, energy revolution, and space stations. Here’s everything we’ve learned so far (with a big hat-tip to the ever-incredible Cloververse subreddit).
The ARGs by design provide clues for the new Cloverfield movie, so it’s important to know what story exactly we’re dealing with; with Cloverfield it was a monster, with 10 Cloverfield Lane it was a reason to go underground. What are Cloverfield 3‘s red flags?
Before its connection to the wider franchise was confirmed, Cloverfield 3 went by the name God Particle, which had an incredibly intriguing plot synopsis: “A team of astronauts aboard an international space station find themselves alone after a scientific experiment involving a particle accelerator makes the Earth vanish. When a space shuttle appears, the space station crew must fight for survival following their horrible discovery.” Because nothing else has been revealed, this is basically all we have to go on, and as there have been rewrites to make God Particle a proper Cloverfield film, details could have changed. But, fundamentally, we’re dealing with energy experimentation and space stations. This is, by the way, why the title Cloverfield Station makes so much sense.
CLOVERFIELD 3’S ARG STARTS: TAGRUATO HACKED AGAIN
On January 18, 2018 – the ten year anniversary of the original film’s release – something changed on Tagruato’s still-active website. Previously it had been a simple landing page that led nowhere, but now it displayed an error message. Beneath that message was a blurred memo bore the day’s date that discussed “renewable technology” and a long-term plan for a “powerful revolutionary energy source” expected by “April 18, 2028” (note: almost ten years to the day on from the film’s planned release date).
Here we have some potential context for the God Particle experimentation, although what was most important would up being that date. Following the same logic that led to 1-18-08.com, players found 04182028.com, a site registered before the game began. Originally on the URL was a short, corrupted video that was barely comprehensible beyond one incomplete line: “That is why I’m trying to warn you about the dangers of what Tagruato is trying to do.” Another warning about Tagruato’s experimentation? Sounds like T.I.D.O. Wave.
Shortly after, Tagruato’s site reverted to a similar state to how it was prior, with the language choice page (but still no way to advance beyond).
THE INTRODUCTION OF CLOVERFIELD STATION
Quiet didn’t last for long. A couple of days later, 04182028.com was updated; the corrupted video changed but, more importantly, so did the audio, this time with something more pertinent to the film:
“Welcome to the show… Cloverfield Station… joining us today… controversy… Mark Stambler, author of the book…”
This directly connects to the rumored title (and may serve as confirmation) and brings the first in-game connection between Tagruato, its experimentation and the plot of the movie. The name of the writer is also interesting due to the shared surname with 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s antagonist, although no greater connection has arisen (remember, the games are only tangentially connected).
THE CLOVERFIELD ENERGY INITIATIVE
Tagruato had another hack around the same time, with a new error message and a distorted view of a company press release several years down the line:
OSLO – Jan 22, 2022 … exciting new agreement between the Tagruato Corporation … Norway, Tagruato … renewable energy, Cloverfield Energy … Oslo One and Norway Renewable – remains …eak … for its Energy Revolution, activated April 18, 2028
It’s vague, but it looks like by 2022 Tagruato has assimilated more energy companies as part of its initiative to develop/acquire “Cloverfield Energy” (which may be the new version of the synopsis’ God Particle).
RELATED: CLOVERFIELD 3 IS 2018’S MOST ANTICIPATED HORROR MOVIE
The site updated a few days later, this time revealing a pamphlet on “The Cloverfield Energy Initiative“. It calls the project “revolutionary“, a “coalition” and as “reshaping the way we power the world“, all backing up prior theorizing. There’s further talk of an “Initiation Day“, based on the timeline April 18, 2028. From what words can be made out, it’s presented as altruistic – “a new era of unprecedented energy efficiency” – but a note scrawled over the top by T.I.D.O. beg to differ:
“Someone needs to 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.”
We once again have a war between Tagruato and T.I.D.O., only this time it’s not about oil drilling but the entire planet’s power supply. This reveal is complimented by a 04182028.com update where Mark Stambler shoots down their CEI and provides a third nod for the franchise title in a book he’s written:
Interviewer: Your thoughts, Professor Mark Stambler?
Mark Stambler: …because of Tagruato … Everything that’s happened, I was right. CEI was a lie, just like I predicted in my book, the Clover…
The conflict has been better outlined in the latest error at Tagruato, which further hints at some nefarious underlying plot to the Cloverfield Energy project:
“Tagruato’s real reason to steal the rest of the world’s energy. They’ve spent twenty years […] to open it. Not worth the cost to the world. T.I.D.O. Wave”
THE GAME MOVES INTO THE REAL WORLD
For the next stage of the ARG, we have to go back to SDCC 2017. There, Paramount put on an event centered on Slusho! with a competition for attendees to take part in Seven months later, the winners got sent gift packages with a Tagurato returner stamp that contained, amongst other goodies, an unobscured version of the pamphlet from the website. The key information had already been gleaned, but these confirmed Tagruato’s ten-year plan involving new energy and corporate expansion.
RELATED: GUGU MBATHA-RAW HAS ‘NO IDEA’ HOW GOD PARTICLE IS A CLOVERFIELD FILM
Other sections of the pamphlet seemed to reference the Cloverfield Station, with the Bold Futura piece building on the 10 Cloverfield Lane tease to reveal they were exploring “Exo-meteorology” and continuing “revolutionary work in the field of centrifugal force-based artificial gravity” (i.e., the astronauts won’t be in zero-g in the film). The Yoshida Medical (another subsidiary) summary further featured nods to “Seabed nectar“, harkening back to Sluhso and the discovery of the original monster.
This real-life aspect of the ARG continues with corroborated tweets for Mark Stambler – who has been “forced” onto Twitter by what he calls hoaxed videos seemingly featuring him (the nature of which is unclear) – and SLUSHO!TRUCK that point towards a New York-focused event. This suggests there will be something involving a New York area university (where Stambler is a professor).
CONCLUSION: WHAT THE CLOVERFIELD 3 ARG REVEALS
The Cloverfield 3 ARG appears to be, like Cloverfield‘s before it, providing context that won’t be present in the story proper; in this case, how the space-faring experimentation came about. It appears in 2018, Tagruato started taking steps towards developing a revolutionary form of energy – Cloverfield Energy – one that proved controversial for both its technological and monopolistic implications. This led to vocal responses from T.I.D.O. and Mark Stambler, but they continued regardless. This, in turn, led to the creation of Cloverfield Station – built from Bold Futura-developed technology – where disaster is destined to strike.
There’s sure to be more to come, filling the in-universe gaps between now and April 18, 2028, and possibly providing clues to the new release date change should the Netflix release happen. We’ll keep this page updated with any and all developments.
KEY RELEASE DATES
God Particle/Cloverfield 3 release date: Apr 20, 2018
Overlord release date: Oct 26, 2018
