--- description: What to know about the J.J. Abrams-produced "10 Cloverfield Lane," from its relationship to the 2008 movie "Cloverfield" to its secret origins. title: 10 Things to Know About '10 Cloverfield Lane' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt221c717f7d1efcb5/69888a8f5f570f31c7b1ffcb/john-goodman-mary-elizabeth-winstead.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Everything You Need to Know About _10 Cloverfield Lane_  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 11, 2016 1:00 PM CUT  John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead after the "10 Cloverfield Lane" New York Premiere on March 8, 2016. John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead after the "10 Cloverfield Lane" New York Premiere on March 8, 2016.Michael Loccisano--2016 Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 11, 2016 1:00 PM CUT _10 Cloverfield Lane_, the J.J. Abrams-produced, loosely-related follow-up to 2008’s _Cloverfield_, was a project long shrouded in secrecy. Aside from the basic premise—Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a woman, Michelle, who wakes up in a cellar, having been rescued from an unknown outside threat by a possibly menacing John Goodman—the suspenseful sci-fi flick remains as unspoiled as a movie can be these days. As it hits theaters Friday, here’s what to know about its origins, its cast and its secret path to release. **1\. It’s not technically a sequel to** **_Cloverfield_** **.** As Abrams [told](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/10-cloverfield-lane-premiere-jj-873907 "undefined") the _Hollywood Reporter_ before the film’s New York premiere, “The easiest way to think of it now is that it’s part of an anthology, it’s like _The Twilight Zone_. It’s like if Cloverfield were an amusement park, this would be one of the rides at the park.” There is no overlap between the casts, directors and settings of the two movies. **2\. The movie was such a secret that not even its cast knew it was going to bear the word “** **Cloverfield”** **in its name** **.** There were several working titles for the film while it was in development, including _Valencia_ and _The Cellar_. Winstead [found out](http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/10-cloverfield-lane-how-j-j-abrams-made-a-secret-sequel-20160309?page=3 "undefined") the actual name on the day the trailer premiered, attached to Michael Bay’s _13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi_, less than two months before _10 Cloverfield Lane_’s March release date. **3\. John Goodman hadn’t heard of** **_Cloverfield_** **until he was hired for** **_10 Cloverfield Lane_** **.** On the [Howard Stern Show](https://www.howardstern.com/show-guests/24897-john-goodman/ "undefined") earlier this week, Goodman said that when he got the call about the role, it was still called _The Cellar_. “Cloverfield, I know from bupkis!” he said. (That’s a Yiddish term that means “nothing,” for the uninitiated.) But he signed onto the film on the strength of its script. It also didn’t hurt that it filmed in New Orleans, where Goodman lives. **Read More:** [Review: _10 Cloverfield Lane_ Is a Nonsequel That Delivers](http://time.com/4254233/10-cloverfield-lane-movie-review/ "undefined") **4\. It’s a directorial debut.** The movie is the first feature by director Dan Trachtenberg, who caught Abrams’ attention after he made a 2011 short film called [_Portal: No Escape_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4drucg1A6Xk "undefined"), which takes place in the universe of the _Portal_ video game series. The story of a woman who wakes up in a room with no idea how she got there, the premise of Trachtenberg’s short has much in common with _10 Cloverfield Lane_. **5\. Yes, that disembodied voice belongs to Bradley Cooper.** The Oscar-winning actor lends his voice to Michelle’s boyfriend Ben, who never appears on camera but is heard during telephone calls. When casting the film, Abrams texted Cooper to ask if he would be interested in the bit part, and Cooper, who worked with Abrams for five years on the show _Alias_, happily agreed. **6\. The word “Cloverfield” doesn’t have any secret meanings.** Though the title of the 2008 film generated much intrigue, director Matt Reeves revealed prior to that movie’s release that it was just a reference to a code name used to keep the project veiled in secrecy. Reeves [explained](http://laist.com/2008/01/09/laist%5Finterview%5F88.php "undefined") to _LAist_ that it derives from the name of a Paramount subsidiary, which may or may not be related to Clover Field Blvd. and Clover Field Airport (now Santa Monica Airport), both of which are located near the office of Abrams’ production company Bad Robot. **7\. Theories are already circulating about who—or what—the monster is.** Abrams has confirmed that there is a monster in the movie, and the foreboding tagline warns that “Monsters come in many forms.” Some are already [speculating](http://www.bustle.com/articles/146905-the-10-cloverfield-lane-theory-about-john-goodman-being-the-monster-makes-a-lot-of-sense "undefined") whether the monster is not a supernatural force but Goodman’s character, whom the trailer portrays as mysterious and potentially sinister. **8\. The script got a boost from** **_Whiplash_** **writer-director Damien Chazelle.** The original screenplay, co-written by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken, made the 2012 [Hit List](http://www.tracking-board.com/the-hit-list-2012-full-list/ "undefined"), an annual list of impressive unmade scripts. Then Chazelle, whose as-yet-unmade 2014 drama would later be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, was [brought in](http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/jj-abrams-talks-10-cloverfield-lane-secrets/ "undefined") to rework the script and direct. After working on the script, Chazelle left the project when he got the opportunity to make _Whiplash_. **9\. It’s expected to make a splash at the box office, but it’s unlikely to overtake** **_Zootopia_** **.** Analysts [project](http://deadline.com/2016/03/10-cloverfield-lane-brothers-grimsby-zootopia-box-office-preview-1201716865/ "undefined") an opening weekend of $25-$30 million, possibly higher, when the movie hits 3,200 theaters this weekend. That’s a bit shy of its predecessor’s opening in 2008 ($40 million) and will likely land the film in second place to Disney’s _Zootopia_, which opened March 4 and is expected to have a strong second weekend. **10\. This may not be the last of Cloverfield.** Abrams has hinted that, should the opportunity arise (and in this landscape of sequels and reboots, it’s hard to envision a world in which it wouldn’t), he has ideas for a third film loosely tied to the Cloverfield universe. “I would be lying if I didn’t say there was something else that, if we’re lucky enough to do it, could be really cool that connects some stories,” he [told](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/25/cloverfield-jj-abrams-third-movie "undefined") _Entertainment Weekly_. “There is something else that we’d like to do, and hopefully we’ll get a shot.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4254419/10-cloverfield-lane-monster-spoilers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4254419/10-cloverfield-lane-monster-spoilers/"},"headline":"Everything You Need to Know About 10 Cloverfield Lane","datePublished":"2016-03-11T13:00:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:48:22.797Z","description":"From its relationship to \"Cloverfield\" to conspiracy theories about its monster","url":"https://time.com/4254419/10-cloverfield-lane-monster-spoilers/","keywords":["movies","J.J. 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