Cloverfield Later

Cloverfield Later is a 2021 American science fiction monster film, directed by J. A. Bayona and co-produced by J. J. Abrams. It is first direct sequel to the original film, Cloverfield (2008).

The film was announced by JJ Abrams at a CinemaCon conference in April 2018 and Abrams and Hannah Minghella later became producers, with Bayona directing and Joe Barton writing the script. Bear McCreary, composer for the previous films in the series, returned to compose the score. Filming ran from March to July 2020 in Los Angeles and New York City, with post-production wrapping the following November.

Cloverfield Later was released on January 21, 2021 in the United States, and was part of 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It received mixed reviews, being praised for its performances, musical score, visual effects, and atmosphere, but criticized for aspects of the story. It became a box office success grossing $234.5 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise at the time of its release. Cloverfield Later started the "Cloverfield Aftermath" media. The second installment, Tagruato, premiered its first season on October 2, 2022.

Plot
"From the hands of producer J. J. Abrams, "Cloverfield Later", sequel to the 2008 hit, tells us the moments after the last images seen recovered from New York. At a critical time for America, the story parallels the group of "eco-terrorists" T.I.D.O. Wave about the events of destruction in Manhattan and the reaction of the US government and military, while the conspiracies of Tagruato are revealed. In theaters on January 21, 2021."

Cast

 * Ruairi O'Connor as TBA
 * Ingrid Bisu as TBA

Pre-production
In June 2018, JJ Abrams confirmed that a fourth Cloverfield film would be made and was in development. He further described the film as a "true" and "dedicated" theatrical release sequel to the first film. In January 2019, Joe Barton was hired as screenwriter, while Abrams will serve as co-producer with Hannah Minghella. It was stated that the project will be a joint production between Bad Robot Productions and Paramount Pictures and unlike the original movie, it will not be shot in found footage format. In July 2019, J.A. Bayona joined as the film's director, and helped lay the groundwork for the planned trilogy, with Abrams devising a firm plan for the next two installments.

JA Bayona helped adapt the original script with Barton and according to him, it was rewritten to remain extremely faithful to the original film and ignore any other major references to the other two existing films; The approach was made as an extension of the story after the attacks seen in the last film, as a political thriller. Vantage Point (2008) served as part of the inspiration, but improving the storytelling point and plot connectivity. The film was also based on and inspired by the reaction after the attacks of September 11 atacks, with Bayonne setting the atmosphere for comparison. Abrams said that the creative team behind the original had some ideas about the development of Cloverfield 2 and used them from there to develop the group of eco-terrorists who were previously in the background.

Production
Abrams admitted in an interview that he had been impressed by Bayona's filming techniques, especially in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and found it perfect for what was expected in tone of the movie. When the production was secured, there was a political and tactical analysis of the US government's reaction to a likely state of siege like the one seen in the 2008 film. In addition, there was a team of story specialists. The film was compared to a war film in a cold war with the unknown. There was a five-week training phase for the main roles. With an estimated production budget of $20 million, principal photography began in Los Angeles, California on March 14, 2020 and concluded on June 20, 2020 in New York, after 16 weeks of filming. Abrams mentioned that he wanted to keep the budget similar to that of the original film and opted to hire actors not as well known as in that film. Columbia University was used as a filming location for a week, and was closed during that time. The college field trip scene became one of Abrams' favorites.

There was a storm that closed the set for a week and TBA hurt his ankle during it. She said in a later interview that she was in recovery for a week and a half before she was "like new" to film. Steven Soderbergh served as second unit director and shot much of the riot scene outside of Queens. The film ditched the handheld camera, but there were scenes shot using that method that eventually made it into the news and on the internet. Bayona described the film's society as it was in 2008 when the first and this film were set: "We wanted this to feel in the right time period, like we teleported 13 years earlier with cell phones, cameras, etc. .there's uncertainty and that gloomy tone helped me hone the work here."

The Creature
Main article: Clover (2021 creature)

The monster's design was intended to be a full-to-medium change, but Abrams disagreed with the idea and it was ultimately scrapped before post-production. Neville Page returned as "supervisor" in his own words, and in an interview he mentioned that "I had to convince J.J. to do a few tweaks to the Clover species, and we wanted to portray him as a young adult in his late teens." I also quote Matt Revees, director of the original Cloverfield, as saying that "there's nothing scarier than something huge that's scared, except a creature that's angry and instinctively looking for part of its family." The creature's coloration was changed to reflect maturity, changing that "pale color" to a more grayish color with hints of brown and char.

Marketing
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Theatrical
Cloverfield Later was distributed worldwide by Paramount Pictures with the exception of China, where it was released by DMG Entertainment. The world premiere of the film took place in Madrid, Spain on January 8, 2021, with most of the main cast in attendance. TBA recorded a special video before the presentation since he was unable to attend Pantages Theater in Los Angeles hosted the US premiere on January 12. The film was also part of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was presented at the Ray Theater in Park City, Utah. The film was released in most select countries on January 20, 2021 and was released in United Sates on January 21, 2021, in regular theaters and IMAX. The film debuted on 97 IMAX screens worldwide. The film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "thematic material including frightening sequences of threats with some violence and brief language".

Home Media
The DVD was released on May 25, 2021 in a standard version and a super exclusive special edition that brings together all the previous films. The Region 2 DVD was released on June 9 in single and two-disc editions. The limited edition steelbook is only available from HMV just like the first movie. The DVD includes two light quotes from Tagruato.

Reception
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