John Goodman

How big of a secret was the J.J. Abrams produced ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’? So big that star Mary Elizabeth Winstead didn’t even know the movie’s title until an hour before the rest of world did. Up until the trailer for the movie surprised audiences in front of Michael Bay’s ‘13 Hours’ two months ago, no one outside of the cast and crew knew the upcoming thriller was related to 2008's ‘Cloverfield.’

‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ is as sneaky as movies come. No one had any idea the ‘Cloverfield’ universe was being continued until a trailer for the mysterious movie appeared in front of Michael Bay’s ‘13 Hours’ on January 14, a mere two months before its release this Friday. Only scant details about the movie have been revealed in trailers, photos and through fans decoding its vast viral marketing, reminiscent to the unveiling of ‘Cloverfield’ nine years ago. But now that we’ve finally seen the new movie, we can tell you just how it is, and mostly isn’t, related to Matt Reeves’ 2008 monster movie. If you want to remain completely surprised, check out our spoiler-free review. Otherwise, continue into very spoilery territory where we will ruin some big plot twists. You’ve been warned!

What is ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’? Besides being the address of John Goodman’s farm in the movie, the secretive project has been described as a “blood relative” of 2008's ‘Cloverfield,’ not a sequel. Its plot has been kept tightly under wraps with a mere five word synopsis – “Monsters come in many forms.” And its sneaky viral marketing campaign, from websites to a game to burying a military ammo can in New Orleans, have stoked the fires of Bad Robot fans and conspiracy theorists. So what exactly is it then?

10 Cloverfield Lane hits theaters next week, which puts us at peak marketing for Bad Robot’s mysterious “blood relative” to Cloverfield. In addition to a pair of special IMAX TV spots featuring new footage, Paramount has also unveiled a handful of official photos from the upcoming horror / sci-fi thriller starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman (and maybe also a monster?).

Although J.J. Abrams has repeatedly asserted that 10 Cloverfield Lane is not a direct sequel to Cloverfield, the two films do share some DNA, including the revival of Bad Robot's interactive viral marketing. This new IMAX poster not only indulges the studio's fondness for hidden clues and little easter eggs, but also features a very clever design.

The viral marketing for 10 Cloverfield Lane almost feels more persistent and pervasive than the marketing campaign for Cloverfield — though as many of you will remember, those promotional puzzles weren’t really related to Matt Reeves’ monster film, but that doesn’t exactly seem to be the case with 10 Cloverfield Lane. A new piece of viral marketing fun has arrived online, this time offering a text-based simulation game (think Oregon Trail, minus the images) that challenges users to stay alive in an underground bunker for as long as possible.

Just as they did with Cloverfield, Bad Robot has been toying with fans by releasing some very mysterious viral marketing for 10 Cloverfield Lane. In addition to some info about John Goodman’s character and the subliminal images hidden in trailers attached to Deadpool, now comes even more intel for you to puzzle over and dissect for the next couple of weeks.

Bad Robot unveiled a new trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane during last night’s midseason premiere of The Walking Dead, and although producer J.J. Abrams has said that the film is more of a “blood relative” than an actual sequel, the marketing isn’t doing anything to particularly dispel the whole sequel notion. Between the Cloverfield branding, the viral marketing and the mysterious monster-like sounds at the end of the trailer, this movie appears to be more and more of a sequel than Abrams would have us believe.

The Super Bowl commercials weren’t without some early surprises and who better to keep and deliver a secret than J.J. Abrams. Though it was widely reported that Paramount would use their Super Bowl ad time on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 trailer, it turns out that might’ve been a clever bit of misdirection. Right before kickoff, Paramount instead debuted a revealing new 10 Cloverfield Lane trailer, which gives some serious hints at its connection to the original Cloverfield.

Up until now, all we’ve really known about the upcoming Kong: Skull Island is that it will be a King Kong movie. And based on the fact that it takes place on Skull Island, we’ll assume there are other large-sized monsters involved as well. But beyond an impressive cast — Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, Toby Kebbell and now John Goodman — we don’t know much else. But, did that all just change?