With the release of The Cloverfield Paradox, we've been given some answers to the many questions surrounding Cloverfield, but also just a boat load more questions. The Cloverfield franchise is far more than just a series of movies, fans of the films will also be more than aware of the ARGs that surround each film. An ARG (or Alternative Reality Game) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and utilises a multi-media storytelling device to deliver a story. This adds a whole new layer to the Cloverfield franchise, one that many franchises lack, and can also explain why Cloverfield films can be so divisive with critics and audiences. 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox were both originally spec scripts, that probably wouldn't have been made into real life movies if it wasn't for Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams. All three films tell individual stories, part of the Cloverfield Anthology, but all share certain themes and connecting threads. These are also common techniques that J.J. Abrams has regularly employed on projects of his, including Alias, Lost, Super 8 and Fringe.
Current Tagruato Homepage
The "main thread" of Cloverfield appears to be a mysterious Japanese company known as Tagruato. The ARGs largely revolve around Tagruato, it's subsidiaries and it's many conspiracy theories. If you've only watched the movies, you might not even be aware of Tagruato. In the first film, one of the main characters was about to move to Japan to work for a soft drink manufacturer called Slusho. Many people won't even remember this small detail, but it's a surprisingly massive part of the whole Cloverfield story. Slusho is a subsidiary of Tagruato, much like Bold Ventura, the company that Howard Stambler works for in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Tagruato are also the owners of the Cloverfield Energy Initiative, which just so happens to include Cloverfield Station, home of the Shepard Particle Accelerator in The Cloverfield Paradox.
What we know from The Cloverfield Paradox is that the accident aboard the Cloverfield Station ripped a hole in the very fabric of time and space, causing chaos and destruction not just in their universe, but potentially an infinite number of parallel universes including the universes of both Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane. My theory, ladies and gentlemen, is that what if the majority of J.J. Abrams works are included in this vast Cloverfield Multiverse, not just the Cloverfield films, but Lost, Fringe, Alcatraz, Alias, Star Trek and so on. Many of J.J. Abrams works revolve around a multiple or parallel universe concept. There was an "easter egg" at the very beginning of the first Cloverfield film back in 2008, which showed a small Dharma Initiative logo in the bottom right corner of a U.S. Department of Defense title card. This has just been written-off as an easter egg, but what if the events of Lost are actually the finale to this vast Cloverfield Multiverse. The events of Cloverfield Paradox starts this chain-reaction of unfortunate happenings that spans multiple universes, but what if the island from Lost, that is described as being a sort-of plug, is what ultimately contains the rip. The Dharma Initiative is actually another subsidiary of Tagruato, tasked with investigating the island.
Dharma Initiative logo in opening frames of Cloverfield (2008)
I've tried not to go into too much detail about the ARGs, as they really are worth looking into yourselves if you haven't already. There's a lot more to Tagruato then we currently know, and most of the ARGs revolve around Tagruato's Website.
It's all a bit of a crazy theory, but if true, would be quite the accomplishment on J.J. Abrams part. I'm gonna rewatch all the Cloverfield films over the next week or so, and really want to work in Lost and Fringe as well, with the aim of rewatching them all with this theory in mind, looking out for any connecting threads between them. I may put together a more cohesive theory around this with some actual evidence, but for now, I'd like to know your thoughts on this. Let me know down in the comments if you think this is bat-sh!t crazy or weirdly plausible.
Oh, and on a side-note, in The Cloverfield Paradox, what did you make of the young girl that was saved from the wreckage and brought down to the bunker by Michael? Did you notice what she was named as under the credits? This may be related, but look into a manga that was released as part of the first ARG called Cloverfield Kishin. See any connections? I'll be delving more into this area at a later date, but it's definitely gonna be interesting! Until next time, Peace!
Scene from Cloverfield Kishin
All images are copyright of Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures.