Why God Particle Became Cloverfield 3, According To The Writer

Michelle attempting to escape, with Howard right behind

There are few franchises as unique and unexpected as the Cloverfield films. While sharing the common bond of an alien threat, the first two films are wholly independent from each other. But their development is unique as well; 10 Cloverfield Lane was titled Valencia, an ultra low budget thriller produced by J.J. Abrams. And now we've seen that the third film, formerly titled God Particle had a similar origin story, with Abrams inviting the film into the Cloververse whilst in production.

God Particle writer Oren Uziel recently spoke to Collider about the film's road to production, revealing that the original version of the script existed before 10 Cloverfield Lane or the Cloververse were even announced.

I don't know exactly when it became a Cloverfield movie, but I suspect in this current market where it's just harder and harder to market an original movie of any kind, a science-fiction movie in particular, but I think everyone just knew if it fits---and it does---into that Cloverfield world, it should, and it can only help.

Well, this certainly seems promising for the integrity of the film. While the untitled third Cloverfield movie formerly known as God Particle will be welcomed into the franchise, it seems like the core of the film was unchanged. In fact, it was such a non-factor in regards to writing that Oren Uziel doesn't even remember when they were adopted into the property.

If anything, Cloverfield 3's inclusion in the franchise seems to be more of a marketing tool than anything else, at least according to Oren Uziel. Being attached to such an unpredictable and exciting brand will only help the film reach a wider audience, as well as award them some built in audiences in the form of Cloverfield and J.J. Abrams fans.

In fact, Oren Uziel expanded upon what the rewrite process was like, and what the Cloverfield brand truly means. He said,

We rewrote during production, but I'm not sure what it means to be part of the expanded Cloverfield universe, other than knowing what kind of quality and feel you're gonna get from something that's coming out of Bad Robot and J.J. It just sort of helps to give an understanding of like, 'Okay I understand what type of movie this is gonna be.' As far as specifics, I don't think there is one specific thread that makes it a Cloverfield movie, I guess.

It should be interesting to see how God Particle functions within the world of Cloverfield. Revolving around astronauts in a space station, the film will already be the first in the franchise to leave Earth. Perhaps their conflict throughout the film's runtime will result in some alien atrocities descending on Earth, therefore serving as a prologue of sorts to the first two films? We'll just have to wait and see.

The untitled third Cloverfield movie will arrive in theaters on October 27, 2017, just in time for Halloween. Be sure to check our 2017 release list and plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.