Drew Goddard Won’t Rule Out A Return To The Cloverfield Universe

Widely speculated to be rooted in the Cloverfield universe, last month Bad Robot Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, J.J. Abrams, confirmed that the Julius Avery-directed, Nazi-zombie horror flick Overlord is not connected to the Paramount Pictures/Netflix distributed franchise, colloquially referred to as the Cloververse.

Given the generally unfavorable reception of The Cloverfield Paradox – the third, and most recent entry, into a typically well-received anthology series – the once bright future of the Bad Robot franchise has been cast in doubt. While a fourth installment is said to be in the works – corroborated by the head honcho himself, J.J. Abrams – another critical piece in bringing the Cloververse into existence, Drew Goddard, has now weighed in on a possible return to his old stomping ground.

During a press junket for his upcoming effort, Bad Times at The El Royale – which we wholly expect to make an appearance on the summer film festival circuit, along with Overlord – Goddard was asked by /Film if there is any truth to the rumor that he’ll be helming the next Cloverfield installment, following his X-Force movie, of course.

Refusing to rule anything out, here’s what Goddard had to say:

“I heard about that. I’m certainly not currently writing or directing it, but I also wouldn’t rule anything out. Look, I love that universe. I love J.J. I love [director] Matt [Reeves]. I think we all feel like we want to get the band back together eventually, so…”

Although he didn’t rule it out, if Goddard is to return, it won’t be for some time, what with principal photography on the aforementioned X-Force scheduled to begin in October later this year. Regardless, the director’s made quite a name for himself since bursting onto the scene over a decade ago with the first Cloverfield movie (which he wrote).

After all, the Houston, Texas native did earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay back in 2016 (The Martian) and is a very hot commodity in Hollywood at the moment. A return to the franchise that made his name would be great to see, no doubt, but only time will tell if it happens.