The mysterious upcoming J.J. Abrams-produced film”God Particle” will be the latest movie connected to the producer’s cult hit “Cloverfield,” an insider familiar with the project told TheWrap.

Not only will “Particle” be the third in a series of connected “Cloverfield” films, but Abrams and studio partner Paramount Pictures are quietly developing more movies for the shared universe, the individual said. Both parties hope to release a new film in the shared “Cloverfield” each year, the insider added.

Paramount declined to comment on the matter. Abrams’ company Bad Robot did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Fans of “Cloverfield” and its cinematic cousin “10 Cloverfield Lane,” which starred John Goodman and was released in March, speculated the “God Particle” was indeed connected to the same universe when the project was announced in February.

“Particle” is about a team of astronauts who make a “shocking discovery” and end up fighting for survival in what is described as an altered reality. Julis Onah (“The Girl Is in Trouble”) directed from a script by Oren Uziel. It stars David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl and Chris O’Dowd.

The film is set to open wide on Feb. 24, 2017 — though footage from the project is expected to be presented to reporters on Thursday in New York. Studio head Brad Grey will personally present highlights from the upcoming slate at the event, and do a similar event on Nov. 2 in Los Angeles on the Paramount lot. The insider was present at an event leading up to those presentations.

A person on the Paramount lot said no announcement would come from the Thursday and Nov. 2 presentations — just footage.

Shared film universes are largely uncharted territory and manifest in different ways — there’s the overt and highly successful strategy over at Marvel, where cross-pollination is rampant. Take the upcoming “Thor: Ragnarok” — the narrative belongs to the norse god played by Chris Hemsworth, but the studio is happy to let Mark Ruffalo drop in as the Incredible Hulk.

Abrams connects his shared universe in much less visible ways — you can click here to read an excellent and meticulous analysis of the connection between “Cloverfield” and “10 Cloverfield Lane.”

Looks like we’re closer to opening J.J. Abrams’ latest mystery box.

The prolific producer’s sci-fi thriller “God Particle” has been removed entirely from the Paramount Pictures release schedule, and seven months after it a new “Cloverfield” film has been dated.

TheWrap reported exclusively in October that the David Oyelowo space thriller was the next in a series of films from a connected Cloverfield universe.

“2017 Cloverfield Movie,” presented in IMAX, will open October 27, 2017. “God Particle,” which also stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Zhang Ziyi and Chris O’Dowd, has been pulled entirely.

The studio and producer Abrams’ Bad Robot hope to eventually release one film in the series per year, an individual familiar with the plans said at the time. The studio would not clarify today’s announcement.

Fans of “Cloverfield” and its cinematic cousin “10 Cloverfield Lane,” which starred John Goodman and was released in March, speculated the “God Particle” was indeed connected to the same universe when the project was announced in February.

“Particle” is about a team of astronauts who make a “shocking discovery” and end up fighting for survival in what is described as an altered reality. Julis Onah (“The Girl Is in Trouble”) directed from a script by Oren Uziel. It stars David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl and Chris O’Dowd.

Paramount Pushes ‘Cloverfield Movie’ Back to 2018
Dave McNary Film Reporter @Variety_DMcNary
JULY 21, 2017 | 09:10AM PT

Paramount and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions have moved the science-fiction thriller “2017 Cloverfield Movie” back by more than three months to Feb. 2, 2018, from Oct. 27.

This is now the second delay for the “Cloverfield” threequel, which had been originally titled “God Particle,” after it was pushed back for the first time from its initial Feb. 24, 2017, date.

“The 2017 Cloverfield Movie,” which will most likely be retitled, will become the first title to launch on Feb. 2, just two days before the NFL’s 52nd Super Bowl.

The story, set in the near future, centers on a team of astronauts on a space station making a terrifying discovery that challenges all they know about the fabric of reality, all while desperately trying to fight for their survival.

Nigerian-American filmmaker Julius Onah is directing. David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl, and Chris O’Dowd are starring.

The studio and Bad Robot have been developing the project since 2012. It’s the third part of the Cloverfield universe, launched in 2008 with the secrecy-shrouded found-footage monster movie “Cloverfield.”

Paramount-based Abrams was also a producer on last year’s “10 Cloverfield Lane,” which opened in March with Dan Trachtenberg directing. Abrams called “10 Cloverfield Lane” a “spiritual successor” to the original “Cloverfield.”

“10 Cloverfield Lane” starred Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a woman who wakes up in an underground bunker after a car crash with two men who insist that the surface of the Earth has become uninhabitable. The movie was one of the few Paramount films last year to perform well, with a worldwide gross of more than $100 million on an $8 million budget.