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Denis Villeneuve Directing Cloverfield 4 After Dune
Cloverfield 4 is happening, and it looks like acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will be directing the sequel after he wraps up on Dune. Due out in late 2020, Villeneuve's Dune is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's iconic science fiction novel of the same name, originally published in 1965. But while the movie is generating quite a lot of buzz for Villeneuve, primarily due to the cast and crew involved with the project, it's what the director is going to tackle afterward that's starting to get attention.
It's been 11 years since the first Cloverfield movie hit theaters - written by Drew Goddard, produced by J.J. Abrams, and directed by Matt Reeves - but only one year since the third installment in the franchise, The Cloverfield Paradox, released on Netflix to overwhelmingly negative reviews. A few months after its release, Abrams confirmed at CinemaCon 2018 that a proper Cloverfield sequel was in development and that it would release theatrically. And now, the studio has finally revealed new information about the long-awaited, upcoming sequel, Cloverfield 4.
In a press release on Monday, Paramount Pictures confirmed that Denis Villeneuve will be directing Cloverfield 4, which is still untitled at this point, after he finishes filming on Dune. Since Dune started filming recently, hopefully it won't be too long before Cloverfield 4 enters production. Here's a portion of Paramount's press release about Cloverfield 4:
Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions announced today that Denis Villeneuve will direct the next “CLOVERFIELD” film. The project will be produced by Paramount and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, who served as producers on previous films in the hit series.
"Denis Villeneuve is an incredible craftsman, and we couldn't be more pleased to have him join the Cloverfield universe," said Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO, Jim Gianopulos. "Our last film with Denis, Arrival, was an extraordinary success and we look forward to seeing that same level of success with the new Cloverfield."
Villeneuve is an intriguing choice for Cloverfield. He's proven that he can tackle all sorts of projects - from character dramas like Prisoners to expansive sci-fi tales like Blade Runner: 2049 - and entering the Cloverfield universe will simply mark another challenge for the writer-director. Furthermore, Villeneuve has already proven his willingness to take on movies with built-in, passionate fan bases, such as Dune and the recent Blade Runner sequel. So directing Cloverfield shouldn't be a problem.
Given that Abrams and Bad Robot rarely share any details regarding new Cloverfield movies before the first trailers release, though, it remains to be seen what the next Cloverfield installment will even be about and who will return from the original movie, if anyone does at all since most of the characters were killed off. Even though viewers never see what happens to Michael Stahl-David's Rob Hawkins and Odette Annabelle's Beth McIntyre, it's presumed that both characters perished at the end of the first Cloverfield film. But Villeneuve will have plenty of time to work all that out.
