Paramount Pictures have announced their new Cloverfield film is in active development and Babak Anvari is attached to direct – the British-Iranian filmmaker is best known for his debut feature Under the Shadow and the Armie Hammer-starring psychological horror Wounds.

This untitled film will be the first canonical sequel to Matt Reeves’ found-footage sci-fi, in which a giant creature rampages through Manhattan. The 2008 movie has already received two spin-offs, the very good 10 Cloverfield Lane and the not very good The Cloverfield Paradox. 

Joe Barton (Riz Ahmed’s Encounter, The Ritual) has penned the screenplay for this next instalment to the popular horror franchise, with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions producing alongside Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen. Bryan Burke, Matt Reeves, and Drew Goddard will executive produce.

Babak Anvari most recently directed the Netflix horror-thriller I Came By, in which a young graffiti artist (George MacKay) targets the homes of the wealthy elite, a hobby that leads him to discover a shocking secret – one that would put him and the ones closest to him in danger.

Filming on the Cloverfield sequel reportedly began on September 23rd, so it’s safe to expect some news on casting and plot will drop very soon.