A “sequel” to the smash hit, 2008 creature feature, Cloverfield, is coming. Not in a few years, but in a few months.  As first reported by Collider ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ Is the Title of J.J. Abrams’ Secret Bad Robot Movie. It was first announced that Dan Trachtenberg was planning on directing a post-apocalyptic thriller called ‘Valencia’ for Bad Robot and Paramount Insurge, produced by J.J. Abrams. A post-apocalyptic thriller, ‘Valencia’ was to star Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a woman trapped inside a bunker with two other men, John Goodman and John Gallagher, Jr., after the world outside has ended.

Speaking to Collider, Winstead explained…

“He tells me that basically the world is over outside because there’s been a nuclear fall-out. It does have similarity to Faults, in some ways, because you don’t know who’s telling the truth or who to believe. There’s a lot of, who’s manipulating who, and all of that. Tonally, it’s very different, but it has some of those same themes.”

A teaser was recently attached to the Paramount release 13 Hours, with little fanfare. If you remember, Cloverfield was an expertly marketed piece that fed into speculation and grassroots word of mouth.  Below is the suspiciously bootleg trailer that appears to have been filmed during the normal smattering of previews.

The trailer is exactly what a preview should be.  We begin with clear shots of the cast enjoying normal life in their abnormal conditions.  Then, something begins to feel off.  the tone changes from upbeat to creepy as John Goodman’s character betrays a sense of overbearing.  We get the sense that Goodman has trapped them there. The chance arises and Winstead escapes. The truth is that Goodman is sheltering them, protecting them from a far more sinister fate outside.

Says Abrams, “The idea came up a long time ago during production. We wanted to make it a blood relative of Cloverfield. The idea was developed over time. We wanted to hold back the title for as long as possible.”

We are eager to see where this idea is taken.  It feels like a far more intimate story than the first film, or is it?  Could they be holding out on showing the good stuff?

10 Cloverfield Lane is coming to theaters on March 11th!