Julius Onah
Julius Onah

Julius Onah’s sci-fi thriller “God Particle,” which J.J. Abrams is producing, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo attached to star, will apparently be the latest in the “Cloverfield” franchise/universe.




Said to have been one of Hollywood’s most buzzed-about “open directing assignments” (partly because there had been lots of secrecy around it, and J.J. Abrams had been attached to produce), the story (as we know it thus far) follows an American space station crew that’s abandoned after a problem with a Hadron accelerator causes Earth to completely vanish, challenging all they know about the fabric of reality, as they desperately fight for their survival.

“God Particle” will be connected to the “Cloverfield” universe, as Abrams and studio partner Paramount Pictures plan to continue to develop even more projects within that universe, released annually – at least until the exhaust it.

David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw
David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Joining Oyelowo and Mbatha-Raw are Daniel Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O’Dowd, John Ortiz, Zhang Ziyi and Aksel Hennie.

Lindsey Weber will produce alongside Abrams, while Tommy Harper and Bob Dorhmann are executive producers.

Filming begun in June, and Paramount has set a February 24, 2017 release date for “God Particle,” so we’ll get to see this a lot sooner than I originally expected; a trailer/teaser shouldn’t be far away.

I’m glad this is finally becoming a reality, and with black actors starring, as well as a black director. It’s been in development for 2+ years (before Oyelowo and Mbatha-Raw became attached). It should help increase awareness of Onah’s name, within the industry, as well as among audiences.