Some Theories About 10 Cloverfield Lane: Sequel, Prequel, Spin-Off, Or New Idea Altogether?

Last night, something magical happened to Cloverfield fans – a trailer starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr. played before Michael Bay’s 13 Hours, and at the end, the title Cloverfield turned into something more: 10 Cloverfield Lane. I KNOW, RIGHT?!

It’s no secret that J.J. Abrams has wanted to re-visit Cloverfield through a sequel of some sort, but after early talks, plans seemed to dissipate, J.J. became a Star Wars hero, and Clover seemed to be put on the backburner. Or, maybe that’s just what J.J. wanted us to believe…

While Abrams was busy traveling to a galaxy far, far away, his production company, Bad Robot, enlisted Dan Trachtenberg (creator of the short Portal: No Escape/no relation to my childhood crush, Michelle Trachtenberg) to direct a post-apocalyptic-ish movie titled Valencia. According to IMDB (which has changed Valencia to 10 Cloverfield Lane as of this very morning), Winstead stars as a young woman who wakes up from a car accident in a man’s bomb shelter.

Here’s the actual synopsis:

Waking up from a car accident, a young woman finds herself in the basement of a man who says he’s saved her life from a chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable.

Funny enough, there were other cast members (no one notable) listed on the Valencia IMDb page, but now that it’s been converted to 10 Cloverfield Lane, only the three actors mentioned above remain on the list. In typical Bad Robot fashion, Abrams is withholding as much information as possible, only teasing Cloverfield fans with a short, mysterious glimpse.

So, what else do we know? Abrams describes the film as a “blood relative” to Cloverfield, Whiplash creator Damien Chazelle shares a screeplay credit with Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken, the film releases March 11th, 2016 (LIKE, NOT EVEN TWO MONTHS), and Winstead herself described the then-titled Valencia as being Faults-esque – so psychologically driven. Oh, and the film’s tagline? “Monsters come in many forms.” Besides that, and a strange noise during the title-flash that sounds like ominous wind blowing/rattling/clunky movement, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a complete mystery.

But let’s be real – it’s not Cloverfield 2. Clover, the menacing city-crusher, will not make an appearance here, and Trachtenberg’s spinoff will be VERY different (found footage is a gonner). Yet, if it IS connected somehow, possibly taking place in the same world, at what time and how could it possibly be tied to Cloverfield?

Well, I have some ideas. And I think they’re pretty solid. Let’s see if you agree!