The so-called Cloververse may not be the most popular universe in Hollywood, nor is it the most successful, but it’s far and away the most intriguing.
To date, Paramount and the creative wizards at Bad Robot have pumped out two decidedly different movies – one creature feature told through the lens of a camcorder, and a water-tight thriller anchored by John Goodman at his absolute best – but we’re now beginning to learn more about Cloverfield 3, along with its alleged journey to Netflix.
Said to be titled Cloverfield Station – a far cry from God Particle – earlier this week Bad Robot launched a suitably cryptic viral marketing campaign for its sci-fi oddity, and it all centers around Tagruato, the fictional Japanese mining company that first appeared in Matt Reeves’ found-footage hit which, incidentally, just celebrated its 10th birthday.
Its dummy website, ‘http://tagruato.jp/‘, contained an audio file referencing Tagruato and its ominous experiments. If you’re in need of a refresher, a deciphered version of the data reads as so:
Tokyo – January 18, 2018, Tagruato has begun development on a revolutionary new energy technology. In what Ceo Ganu Yoshida called a technological great leap forward for our planet. This renewable technology will take at least 4 years to complete with along with another six years. International regulatory bodies to bring the powerful revolutionary energy source by April 18th, 2028.
Here’s where things get interesting. A second URL, which alludes to the date in Tagruato’s transcription, brings us to a scrambled video message. Hang around for a few seconds (no jump-scares, we promise) and you’ll see a woman talking to the camera. It’s admittedly difficult to understand her desperate pleas, but Reddit has gone one step further to clean up the audio, which actually mentions the name ‘Mark Stambler’. Is he a direct relation to Howard Stambler (Goodman) of 10 Cloverfield Lane?
Chances are Mark Stambler has ties to Tagruato, too, which may help explain Howard’s erratic behavior all throughout the Dan Trachtenberg thriller – he basically spent his entire adult life locked up in a nuclear bunker, mind you.
Not only that, but based on 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s finale, the quasi-sequel took place a good few years after Cloverfield, so we wouldn’t be too surprised if Cloverfield Station – or whatever it winds up being called – whisks us further into the future. April 20th is the date for your diaries.