I think everyone's been assuming that Matt Reeves, whose career ascended to another level this year thanks to Cloverfield, would go straight to directing the in-the-works sequel. In an interview with MTV this week, he made it clear that this isn't so. Cloverfield 2 is still happening, but another of his pet projects -- a psychological thriller called The Invisible Woman -- has raced ahead of it in the production pipeline. Not actually a movie about an invisible woman, its story instead involves a "woman that gets so desperate to save her family, that she goes to crazy lengths and enters a life of crime." Reeves, who wrote the film himself, describes it as "a Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of Marnie."

Though Cloverfield was written by Drew Goddard, Reeves wrote and directed the 90's David Schwimmer comedy The Pallbearer, and co-wrote the screenplay for Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. I've seen both, but I'll be damned if I remember either, though I have a vague recollection that Under Siege 2 was pretty fantastic in that way that some Steven Seagal movies can be. Not being the biggest fan of Cloverfield (I liked it well enough), I can wait for the sequel. If you can't -- uh, well, you'll have to. Sorry. The good news is that it still appears to be on the way.

Those of us who saw Cloverfield in theaters this past January watched the monster movie in the wrong way. According to a new Reuters article, the movie's producer, J.J. Abrams, says it's really meant for home viewing: "The thing about this movie -- probably more than any I think -- is that it is better on DVD than in the theater," Abrams told Reuters. "Because the movie is like a videotape. It lives on your TV. In many ways, it is supposed to be viewed on a (TV) monitor."

Interesting. Wait, so does that mean I was correct when I wrote in my column, "The Exhibitionist", about Cloverfield being "theatrically inappropriate"? I went so far as to say that it had no business being shown in theaters at all, which I'm sure Abrams doesn't agree with, and I also said that it was most appropriately viewed in a YouTube window. I received some of my harshest criticism ever for that column, yet I don't mean to now jump around bragging that I was right and the commenters were wrong. Anytime a post on Cinematical can get 42 responses (or more), in which movie fans get into a heated discussion about films, formats and fun (as in the adjective used to describe the experience of seeing Cloverfield in a theater), is 100% a good thing. Yes, even when I'm said to be "misguided" or "having an off day".

A copy of the brand spanking new Cloverfield DVD (which hits shelves on April 22) arrived in the mail late last week, and after only watching the special features, I have to say I was pretty pleased with it. The two alternate endings (which we posted earlier today) weren't that mind-blowing, but the behind-the-scenes featurettes are fun to watch. Out of the deleted scenes and bloopers, my favorite part was watching how they shot the party scene in the beginning. There's no music in the background (that was all added later on), and so you have this packed apartment with kids, and Hud is shouting, but the entire room is silent, pretending to talk and dance. Very comical to watch. (You also get previously-released trailers for Star Trek and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.)

Anyway, as we approach the DVD release date, a ton more viral material is starting to hit the web. To be completely honest with you, I get lost in this stuff and don't have the time or patience to spend hours sifting through it all. For those interested, check out posts over at Bloody Disgusting and Slashfilm to get caught up. Reaction was certainly mixed after Cloverfield finally debuted back in January, and after an initial surge at the box office, numbers dropped off significantly. But that won't stop folks from pumping out a sequel, which may or may not focus on the Cloverfield monster's mother. (On the DVD, a special effects dude does clarify that the monster is an infant and scared. Oh, and another guy refers to the monster as "Clover." Unfortunately, no one mentioned a thing about the satellite that falls into the water at the very end. However, I did not listen to Reeves' full commentary on the film; only on the endings.)

I was one of those that really enjoyed Cloverfield for what it was -- a creepy, original monster flick designed for the YouTube generation. That said, I'm not sure they could deliver another completely unique experience in a sequel. But what do you think?

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Above: New Iron Man poster from Wondercon, courtesy of ScreenRant.

We're at Wondercon in spirit ...

Our friends over at Film School Rejects claim they know who's been cast as The Blob in next summer's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I'm sorry, but how many friggin' characters will there be in this film? There's just too many. Now it sort of feels like an episode of A Different World -- ya know, you have Denise from The Cosby Show, but everyone around her is different; almost to a point where it takes away from having that familiar character because there's so many new characters to get to know. But anyway, FSR says Kevin Durand was "live-scanned" for the part of Blob, and will shoot his scenes in Canada. Since the actual film is shooting on the other side of the world, we're not sure if Durand will be shooting his scenes via satellite or what. Either way, chalk up the casting of another character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

ReelzChannel recently caught up with J.J. Abrams and managed to ask him a bit about Cloverfield 2, as well as his upcoming Star Trek flick. We've included the video interview after the jump, but essentially Abrams said they have an idea for a Cloverfield sequel that they're currently tossing around, but are not sure what's going to happen. (As if Abrams would ever be truthful about anything -- dude probably hides his real name from us as well.) Good news: Abrams admits the shaky cam that annoyed practically everyone who watched the first Cloverfield might not make it into the sequel. (Video after the jump.)

Finally, Wondercon 2008 is in full swing over in San Francisco this weekend. Cinematical is not there this year, but several other websites are -- so we'll let them do all the work. You've already seen the new Iron Man poster above, and AICN also has up a pretty long report from yesterday's Wanted and Forgetting Sarah Marshall panels, including a rundown on the scenes screened, as well as what the cast in attendance had to say about the film(s). Not the most exciting stuff you've ever read, but if you're itching for anything Wondercon-related, head over there to check it out.

According to Variety, Matt Reeves is "in early talks with Paramount" to direct a sequel to this month's smash Cloverfield. This should come as a surprise to exactly no one, as Cloverfield was made on the super cheap ($25 million) and scored a whopping $46 million in its opening weekend alone. From the way the announcement is worded, it looks like they want Cloverfield II underway ASAP, as soon as Paramount can complete discussions with Reeves, producer J.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard, who penned Cloverfield as well as episodes of Lost, Alias, and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Reeves has also signed to direct The Invisible Woman, "a Hitchcock-style thriller" he wrote that "probes the mind of a former beauty queen who turns to a life of crime to protect her family."

It remains unclear which project will start production first, though the Variety article says there's a "good chance" it'll be Cloverfield. No word yet on the plot, but Goddard recently mentioned the possibility of showing you the fateful night of the attack from another cameraman's perspective. Much to my chagrin, I have yet to see Cloverfield. The night it came out I was assigned to review...Mad Money. You don't know humiliation until you have to purchase a ticket for a midnight showing of the new Diane Keaton comedy while surrounded by a huge mob of psyched Cloverheads. I'll check it out this weekend, but for those of you who've seen it -- are you excited for a sequel? And do you like the idea of watching events from another angle or would you want a whole new adventure?

I've been excited for Cloverfield ever since I heard that Drew Goddard penned the flick. I can't say anything about Lost or Alias, but he penned some fun episodes of Angel, and better yet -- he got his start on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Yes, I'm a Whedonite of the vamp variety.) During his stint with the slayer, he penned part of the stunning Conversations with Dead People, and headed other eps like Dirty Girls and Lies My Parents Told Me. So, hearing that he was putting his spin on the whole monster movie thing was enough to hook me, and while it could potentially be a can't-live-up-to-hype Blair Witch, I'm still running my butt down to the theater tonight to see for myself.

Of course, what we'll all see on the screen is not exactly what he intended. Bloody Disgusting chatted with Godard and director Matt Reeves on the red carpet of the premiere, and got the scoop. Drew was aiming for a "hard R" with lots of blood and disgusting bits, but was told it was "way too brutal." But maybe we'll see more on the DVD, or the sequel? Reeves wouldn't confirm or deny the possibility, but he did comment on what number two could be if they do go into sequel territory, and frankly, I love the idea: "Only time will tell. While we were on set making the film, we talked about the possibilities and directions of how a sequel can go. The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night. There might be another movie!"

The whole monster-coming-back-for-round-two angle is getting old, so I would be all over a sequel that shows the same night from a different perspective. At least then, potential monster death or wrapped-up plots can still be actual endings, rather than fluff that gets twisted for round two, five, or ten. What do you think?