Paramount and Bad Robot by JJ Abrams brought showrunner “The Batman” series Joe Barton to write the script for an untitled “Cloverfield” sequel, the studio confirmed.
Abrams will produce with Bad Robot, head of the film Hannah Minghella.
The 2008 monster movie went viral, raising $ 172 million worldwide, and was the launch pad for a Cloverfield universe that grew to encompass “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “The Cloverfield Paradox”, which premiered on Netflix in 2018. He helped launch the career direction of Matt Reeves, who now directs the feature film “The Batman”.
While the original “Cloverfield” used the found-footage format that was popular for several years, the new installment will abandon the now outdated style, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Cloverfield” follows five young New Yorkers who are forced to flee a giant monster and other creatures while they are having a farewell party. The cast included Lizzy Caplan and TJ Miller. Production was kept secret and fueled intense speculation, which generated buzz for the relatively low budget project. Abrams designed it as a tribute to classic Godzilla films.
Barton is the writer and creator of the 2019 British police drama “Giri / Haji” and recently became the showrunner for the HBO Max spin-off series “The Batman” Gotham PD after Terence Winter left the show.
The Gotham PD series is based on examining the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City explored in the film “The Batman”, helping WarnerMedia build a Batman universe on multiple platforms.
Barton’s Amazon Studios science fiction thriller “Invasion” is in post-production, with Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer starring.