THE END OF OAK STREET Director Addresses CLOVERFIELD Spin-Off Rumors: "There Are Certainly Some Answers in There"
Ever since the first trailer for The End of Oak Street dropped, fans have been picking it apart for clues that it might secretly be connected to the Cloverfield universe. Between the strange flash of light, the mysterious cosmic event, giant prehistoric creatures, and the fact that J.J. Abrams is producing, speculation has been running wild.
Now, writer and director David Robert Mitchell has weighed in on the rumors, though he isn't making things any clearer.
Speaking with SFX Magazine, Mitchell addressed the ongoing fan theories about whether The End of Oak Street is actually part of the Cloverfield franchise.
He said, "Here’s what I can tell you. I wrote the script before I ever personally talked with J.J. You can make of that whatever you will."
That answer doesn't confirm anything, but it certainly doesn't shut the door on the idea either. If anything, it gives fans even more to debate while they wait for the movie to hit theaters.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the film is exactly what happened to Oak Street after the mysterious event seen in the trailer.
The story follows the Platt family after a "mysterious cosmic event" transports their neighborhood to an unknown location filled with dinosaurs, forcing them to rely on each other if they want to survive.
Mitchell also hinted that audiences will get answers about what's really going on, but he isn't interested in spelling everything out. He said: "There are certainly some answers in there."
He went on to explain, "Don't want to over-explain. And I think it's a subjective thing as to whether or not someone has enough, but I believe that's the case."
That approach feels pretty fitting for a movie that's already generating so many theories. Leaving some mystery for audiences to wrestle with has always been part of the fun with projects that flirt with the unknown.
At the moment, there's still very little concrete evidence connecting The End of Oak Street to the Cloverfield franchise. But fans haven't ignored the similarities with the alternate dimensions, bizarre creatures, that mysterious flash of light in the trailer, the fact that the project was originally titled Flowervale Street, and Abrams' involvement have all fueled the speculation.
Whether The End of Oak Street turns out to be a secret Cloverfield movie or something entirely its own, it has already become one of the more intriguing sci-fi releases of the summer. Hopefully we'll finally learn where Oak Street ended up, and whether those fan theories have been onto something all along.
The End of Oak Street opens in theaters on August 14.