What the heck is Cloverfield?

Forget all the talk of Indiana Jones IV, or Transformers, what has really been lighting up the geekily gossip-ridden sites on the ‘net these past few days has been word on a new, top-secret film currently riding under the name Cloverfield.

While that’s a code name for something else, it sounds like a pleasant drama starring Keira Knightly and some bland male lead. But nope… It’s much more exciting than that.

Because Cloverfield is actually a big monster movie being shepherded into life by none other than JJ Abrams, the man behind Lost and M:I:III. While Abrams himself is a little busy preparing to direct the new Star Trek film, he has assembled a team from his previous life as a TV producer to crank out an adventure based around a beast currently being called The Beast.

Ain’t It Cool has been breaking the word about the movie, which features The Pallbearer’s Matt Reeves (who used to work on Abrams’ TV drama Felicity) directing and a script by Drew Goddard, a veteran of the likes of Buffy, Alias and Lost.

According to the reports, Cloverfield’s plot finds a massive beastie attacking New York and is filmed from the point of view of scared citizens with camcorders. So far, the “official” website is blank and the movie itself has been in hushed development at Paramount, but the studio wants to launch a teaser trailer in front of Transformers in the States this week, so if you happen to go and see those robots in disguise at a cinema in the UK or US, you might be in luck…

We’ll keep you up to date with all the information as it trickles in.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

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