When Cloverfield was released in 2008, people had no idea what it was about. Was it science fiction? A monster movie? An apocalyptic movie? The answer, it turned out, was that Cloverfield was a bit of everything. The movie ended up becoming a cult classic, and its cliffhanger ending has now led to a pseudo-sequel called 10 Cloverfield Lane . While many are calling the new film a sequel, it's really more of a companion piece. At least, that's what it looks like based on the few trailers that have been released in the past month. People didn't even know that 10 Cloverfield Lane existed until January, when JJ Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, announced that the film would be released in March. And even though fans have been teased with footage and a few story hints here and there, the question of what 10 Cloverfield Lane is actually about remains unanswered.
The secrecy surrounding 10 Cloverfield Lane has been intense, to say the least. With sequels, or franchises, normally there is a certain amount of mythology that can be carried from film to film. Yet usually, while there is a certain amount of secrecy, there is also a lot of information available for fans to connect the films. Not so with 10 Cloverfield Lane, which seems to almost exist completely separate from Cloverfield. Here's what's known so far:
1. It Takes Place (Mostly) In A Bunker
In the first trailer, you see a girl (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who wakes up handcuffed to a cot under the care of an older man (John Goodman), who tells her he "saved" her from the outside by bringing her into this bunker. Now, clips and teasers have also revealed that Winstead's character does make it outside the bunker at some point. But what she finds outside is anybody's guess.
2. There Is A Monster
In an interview with EW , JJ Abrams confirmed that there is a monster in 10 Cloverfield Lane, but would not say whether or not it would be the same monsters seen destroying New York in Cloverfield. "It's not the monster you expect, but there is a monster," Abrams said.
3. The Monster Is Otherworldly
Despite the fact that John Goodman's character seems sketchy AF, and that the trailer teases that "Monsters come in many forms," Abrams told EW that he thought the movie would satisfy fans hoping to "see something that is not of this natural Earth." Of course, Abrams' specific use of "natural Earth" could just suggest that the monster is somehow supernatural, but not necessarily alien, as in Cloverfield.
4. It Revolves Around Three People
John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. are the only actors featured in the trailer, and Goodman's character implies that everybody outside the bunker has died. According to the film's IMDB page, Goodman plays Howard Stambler and Winstead's character is named Michelle. Gallagher's character is unnamed on the website.
5. You Must Trust No One
Every actor involved in the film has kept their lips sealed when it comes to details about the plot. Winstead, however, opened up a little bit about the dynamics between actors in an interview with EW , saying, "It's so much about just the actors interacting with each other and that tension that builds, just all wondering if they are who they say they are, if they're telling the truth or not, and really wondering what's outside."
6. Mary Elizabeth Winstead Is No Damsel In Distress
10 Cloverfield Lane promises to be a female-centric film, with Winstead's character Michelle as the main protagonist. Director Dan Trachtenberg, who makes his feature directorial debut on this film, assured fans in an interview with Empire Online that, though she spends a good deal of the film in peril and under treat, Michelle is no damsel in distress. Instead, Trachtenberg said, Michelle finds different ways to "MacGyver her way out of situations." The director added that he related to the character more than "most leading men in movies."
7. There Are Connections To Cloverfield
According to the website /Film, the viral marketing for 10 Cloverfield Lane has heavy ties to that of Cloverfield, specifically concerning Tagruato, the fictional Japanese company that might have had something to do with unleashing the monster in Cloverfield. According to the site, Tagruato's official website just uploaded a page on their Feb. 2016 employee of the month, Howard Stambler (Goodman). The page declares that Howard's work as a telemetry analyst has led to "a significant breakthrough diagnosing transmission complications with two of our governmental clients' orbiting satellites."
Howard Stambler's page led fans to discover another website RadioMan70, which then re-directs to FunAndPrettyThings.com, a website that appears to be a coded message rom Howard to his fictional daughter, "Megan." Whether or not this mysterious marketing will actually play into the film remains to be seen. It could all just be fun bonus teases to entertain the fans desperate to solve mysteries.
The filmmakers behind 10 Cloverfield Lane have no intention of releasing more information on the film prior to its release on March 11. So, if you really want to know what 10 Cloverfield Lane is really about, it looks like you'll just have to buy a ticket.
