NETFLIX IN TALKS TO ACQUIRE CLOVERFIELD SEQUEL GOD PARTICLE
The recent entry in the Cloverfield universe has been taking its sweet time getting to us, going through multiple release shifts, so far not even granting us the courtesy of a tease. The recent push moved the movie from this February to April, but recent behind-the-scenes dealings may result in the movie coming to us more quickly and more directly.
THR has been able to confirm that Netflix has been chatting with Paramount about acquiring the rights to the upcoming Cloverfield film – GOD PARTICLE (also occasionally referred to as CLOVERFIELD STATION). The deal has yet to get the final seal of approval, but word is the streaming behemoth would get nearly all domestic and international distribution, and would possibly release the movie even earlier than the date of April 20Paramount had planned.
The deal is being spearheaded by Paramount chairman Jim Gianopoulos, who has apparently been using his new position to analyze which films Paramount has slated are worthy of a theatrical release. “He sat down and looked at what is theatrical, what is not in this day and age. Certain movies were not making the cut,” said one source. The movie from Julius Onah has been getting pushed back on the schedule for over a year now, and recently producer J.J. Abrams stepped in to tinker with the movie during post-production last year.
Though GOD PARTICLE has a modestly-budgeted $40 million tag (up from CLOVERFIELD LANE), the studio had a rough 2017 that could reasonably cause any executive to shake in their high-priced boots. The studio had several big-budget flops, including MONSTER TRUCKS, GHOST IN THE SHELL, BAYWATCH and TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT, while movies like MOTHER! and DOWNSIZING failed to hit in the smaller markets and on the awards circuit.
The third film in this series centers on a team of scientists who must survive on a space station after a particle acceleration experiment had some unintended consequences, which keeps in the theme of the alien invasion-related stories of the last two Cloverfield films. Fans of those movies have been eagerly awaiting this mysterious new film, but perhaps Paramount doesn’t have as much faith in it. Though the deal isn’t done, I can see the studio moving the burden off themselves and onto Netflix, who doesn’t have as much to risk putting it on their service. Given all the space station business and possible alien mayhem, I would like to see this movie on a big screen. But at this point, t I would rather just see the damn thing, and if in a twist of shocking promotion (in Cloverfield tradition) the movie just shows up on my Netflix que one day, I would accept that.
GOD PARTICLE is still currently slated for April 20 with David Oyelowo, Elizabeth Debicki, Ziyi Zhang, Daniel Bruhl, and Gugu Mbatha-Rawstarring.
