Let’s face it: it seems highly unlikely that anyone we know from Cloverfield is going to be in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Most of the characters end up certifiably or almost certainly dead, and talk of the new movie being a “blood relative” has layers of implication which (mis?)direct expectation away from this being an actual sequel. Nevertheless, it’s been eight years since Lady Liberty’s head was unceremoniously thrown down a Manhattan street – let’s find out what the cast and crew of 2008’s sleeper hit have been up to.

Michael Stahl-David, Lizzy Caplan and Jessica Lucas; Courtesy of: Paramount Pictures

Michael Stahl-David (Rob)

Cloverfield is Rob’s story, and although there are only a handful of core characters it is Rob who is almost always on screen. Sadly the same cannot be said for Stahl-David’s subsequent career, which has stalled somewhat, and it’s unlikely that you have seen him in much. In 2014 he starred opposite Zoe Kazan in the Joss Whedon-penned telepathic romance In Your Eyes (it’s on Netflix), and had a supporting role in Show Me A Hero, the acclaimed Oscar Issac-starring political miniseries set in ’80s New York. In Rob Reiner’s upcoming biopic LBJ, Stahl-David will play Bobby Kennedy as Attorney General under Woody Harrelson’s titular president.

Matt Reeves (Director)

Reeves stuck with horror for his followup, directing Chloë Grace Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee in Let Me In, the “not-the-Swedish-original” remake of Let The Right One In. Then it was back to the creature-catastrophe genre for 2014’s Dawn of the Planet Of The Apes. Reeves has stuck to Caesar the ape like Zack Snyder to Superman, and is currently working on the much-rebooted series’ latest sequel, War for the Planet of the Apes. Someone has unfinished business with the Statue of Liberty…

Lizzy Caplan, Michael Bonvillain (Director of Photography) and Matt Reeves; Courtesy of: Paramount Pictures

Lizzy Caplan (Marlena)

Caplan has made a name for herself on the small screen as Dr. Virginia Johnson in Masters Of Sex, as well as a string of roles in comedies from New Girl to Hot Tub Time Machine. Funnily enough, Caplan had another adventure in the wreckage of New York in Item 47, the Marvel one-shot short attached to The Avengers, in which she robs banks using a Chitauri weapon left behind after Iron Man et al. saved the day. Needless to say, her character has a slightly better time in this one. You’ll next see Caplan in Now You See Me 2.

J.J. Abrams (Producer)

With two Star Trek reboots and one Star Wars sequel on his résumé, you’d forgive J.J. Abrams for doing little else in the time since Cloverfield was released. Thankfully, the busiest man in Hollywood [citation needed] has also directed Super 8, produced two Mission: Impossibles, established multiple television series including Fringe and Revolution, and found time to oversee the metatextual experimental novel S. His production company, Bad Robot, has been working overtime, with J.J. (and fellow producer Bryan Burk) leading the charge.

Courtesy of: The LA Times

T.J. Miller (Hud)

Cloverfield put comedian Miller on the movie map, despite the fact he’s barely seen for most of the film – his character’s name playing on his role as the cameraman of the to-be-found footage. Instead we hear his voice throughout, and through this Silicon Valley star Miller has arguably been the most successful of the Cloverfield cast since 2008. He now boasts an impressive bunch of voice credits, notably as Tuffnut in the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, and Fred in Big Hero 6, but he’s also recently made a physical appearance as Wade Wilson’s barman/buddy, Weasel, in this year’s Deadpool.

Drew Goddard (Writer)

Goddard is fast becoming a fan-favourite film writer, having written The Cabin in the Woods, World War Z, Daredevil (thankfully the Netflix variation), and the screenplay adaptation of The Martian, for which he received an Oscar nomination. His future projects are uncertain though, with both Robopocalypse and The Sinister Six currently sitting indefinitely on ice.

The Monster/”Clover”

Courtesy of: Paramount Pictures

Last seen: shrugging off an aerial bombing run as if it were nothing more than a mildly explosive game of conkers, popping over to Central Park for a light snack. Last heard: given A-bomb sirens a roar-off. Clover, as her friends call her, is one hardcore SOB and possibly the only survivor of the entire Cloverfield incident. Clever girl.