The surprise release of The Cloverfield Paradox on Netflix left many wanting more from a franchise that seemed poised for quality entries after 10 Cloverfield Lane. But what the release did show many is just how Cloverfield can be attached to certain stories in order to make them fit into the mold of the franchise. That’s where A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods initially thought their film was heading when they first crafted the idea 10 years ago.
In a recent interview with Ben Pearson over at SlashFilm, Beck and Woods talked about how they actually discussed the possibility of A Quiet Place crossing over with Cloverfield, but the final script actually changed those plans:
Did you ever think about taking this to Bad Robot with the possibility of it being a Cloverfield movie?
Scott: I know! That was one of those things that, I guess it crossed our mind and we had spoken to our representatives about that possibility. It was weird timing, though, because when we were writing the script, 10 Cloverfield Lane was at Paramount. We were actually talking to an executive there about this film, and it felt from pitch form that there might be crossover, but when we finally took the final script in to Paramount, they saw it as a totally different movie. What was really incredible about the process that we feel very grateful for is the studio embraced this weird movie with no dialogue with open arms. They never thought about branding it as a Cloverfield film, I think in part because conceptually it was able to stand on its own.
Bryan: And our biggest fear was – we love Bad Robot, we love the people over there, and obviously J.J. [Abrams] is certainly a hero to us – but one of our biggest fears was this getting swept up into some kind of franchise or repurposed for something like that. The reason I say ‘biggest fear’ – we love the Cloverfield movies. They’re excellent. It’s just that as filmgoers, we crave new and original ideas. And we feel like so much of what’s out there is IP. It’s comic books, it’s remakes, it’s sequels. We show up to all of them, we enjoy those movies too, but our dream was always to drop something different into the marketplace, so we feel grateful that Paramount embraced the movie as its own thing.
If you’ve seen the film, you can see where it likely would be able to smoothly fit into the franchise. It shares a lot of thematic elements with 10 Cloverfield Lane, but in the end, it doesn’t need that connection. 10 Cloverfield Lane doesn’t really need it either, but the surprise announcement of that film helped to sell it. John Krasinski and Emily Blunt have helped to sell the final version of A Quiet Place more than Cloverfield probably ever could.
The film is also receiving some high praise, including this comment by Stephen King:
A QUIET PLACE is an extraordinary piece of work. Terrific acting, but the main thing is the SILENCE, and how it makes the camera's eye open wide in a way few movies manage.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 6, 2018
It also continues the string of quality horror films to find success in theaters over the past few years, including Jordan Peele’s Get Out. You’d have to wonder if it would have found the same type of distinction if it was just another Cloverfield film.
(Via SlashFilm / Entertainment Weekly)
