A curious piece of casting news has arrived, and while on the surface it may simply seem like two impeccable actors teaming up for a small-scale sci-fi film, it could actually have major franchise ramifications. PerVariety,SelmaactorDavid OyelowoandBeyond the LightsstarGugu Mbatha-Raware set to lead theJ.J. Abrams-produced sci-fi thrillerGod Particle, which has been in the works for a while now. Initially set up at Paramount’s InSurge before the specialty banner’s shuttering, the film takes place in the near future and revolves around “a team of astronauts on a mission who make a terrifying discovery that challenges all they know about the fabric of reality, as they desperately fight for survival.”
The Girl Is in TroubledirectorJulius Onahis set to helm the picture with Abrams andBryan Burkproducing through their Bad Robot banner, but in the wake of10 Cloverfield Lane, speculation has run rampant thatGod Particlemight actually be a Cloververse movie. Abrams previously said he hasanother idea that “connects some stories”should they get the opportunity to do it, and10 Cloverfield Lanecertainly made some allusions to the Abrams-produced 2008 originalCloverfield.
Is it possible thatGod Particleis another contained thriller but from a space-set point of view, potentially revealing the origin of the invasions seen inCloverfieldand10 Cloverfield Lane? We likely won’t find out one way or another for a long time, but I personally think that’d be a swell idea, especially with these two actors leading the film.
Oyelowo, of course, was phenomenal as Martin Luther King Jr. inSelmaand has shined in a variety of roles, fromA Most Violent YeartoJack Reacher. Mbatha-Raw, meanwhile, broke out in a big way with stellar turns in the period dramaBelleand the underratedBeyond the Lightsand most recently starred inConcussion, and she also has a strong J.J. Abrams connection—she led Abrams’ short-lived ABC seriesUndercoversin 2010.
With a July 11, 2025 release date already set forGod Particle, production is aiming to get underway sometime in the second quarter of this year. While theCloverfieldconnection remains pure speculation at this point, I’ve got a strong feeling this film will exist within theCloverfieldanthology, and with Oyelowo and Mbatha-Raw onboard, that makes it all the more intriguing.
