Though the Cloverfield franchise has produced sequels such as 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox, we haven’t seen a direct sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2008 picture in 15 years. Cloverfield 2 appears to be in the works, according to Bloody Disgusting. The exciting clue comes in the shape of the in-universe Slusho website, which was just updated to advertise the film.
Slusho is a fictitious drink that links into the Cloverfield universe for those of you who don’t recall or don’t get too invested in ARG campaigns. This highly addicting beverage, made with Seabed’s Nectar and sweet flavors like “Blueberry Zoom” and “Strawberry Tasty,” was used to promote the first Cloverfield film aggressively.
This gives us cause to believe that Slusho will be involved in promoting Cloverfield 2. We can’t think of any other reason why the website would be back up and operating.
Cloverfield 2
So, what’s the goal of Slusho, and what exactly is an ARG campaign? To put it simply, ARG (or Alternate Reality Game) campaigns use real-world materials such as marketing websites to build a much wider narrative scenario. In the case of Cloverfield 2, it is assumed that the secret component of Seabed’s Nectar, discovered “on the deep ocean floor, under amazing pressure and extreme cold,” is what drove the monster from the first Cloverfield film to surface and wreak havoc on New York City.
In other words, the Monster from Cloverfield was at peace deep beneath the ocean. Tagruato, Slusho’s parent firm, may have pushed the bear a little too hard to get the Seabed’s Nectar to manufacture their most profitable and popular beverage. It’s unclear whether Slusho will be heavily featured in Cloverfield 2 or used as another viral marketing gimmick, but we can expect a similar viral campaign to promote the new film in the coming months. However, if you notice Slusho pop-ups, we advise you to be cautious because, as their marketing claims, “You can’t drink just six!”
And this type of marketing is critical to the development of Cloverfield 2. The mystique surrounding the project was one aspect that contributed to its predecessor’s popularity. The first Cloverfield did an outstanding job of teasing people with unnamed teaser trailers and viral marketing for the found footage monster picture. This combination of unearthed footage and marketing mythology made the picture appear all too real when it was released.
Director Matt Reeves has even commented about Cloverfield 2’s development, although he’s been tight-lipped about the prospective plot. And it’s safe to presume that the marketing behind it will gradually provide clues to the impending sequel. So, for the time being, we’ll have to wait and click the “refresh” button on the Slusho site to see if there are any new changes.
