After being dormant for nearly a decade, the Cloverfield franchise is back in a big way, with two films potentially debuting this year. According to SlashFilm, audiences can expect not only the third film in the series to debut in April, but also a fourth film, tentatively titled "Overlord," would land in theaters on October 26.

In the film, "On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to carry out a mission crucial to the invasion’s success. But as they approach their target, they begin to realize there is more going on in this Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation. They find themselves fighting against supernatural forces, part of a Nazi experiment."

The film was directed by Julius Avery (Sun of a Gun) and stars Jovan Adepo (Fences), Wyatt Russell (Everybody Wants Some!!), Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones), Dominic Applewhite (The King’s Speech), Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones), Iain de Caestecker (Lost River), John Magaro (The Big Short), Mathilde Ollivier (The Misfortunes of Francois Jane) and Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo).

Overlord's release date was announced last year, yet the connection to the Cloverfield universe was only tenuous. Given that the film comes from Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot, SlashFilm's confirmation that this is an entry in the franchise doesn't come as much surprise, but the film being completed might not have been anticipated at this stage.

The third film in the series, which was titled "God Particle," was rumored to hit theaters late last year, which was then pushed to this February and ultimately pushed to April. The most recent information about the project is that the film might be purchased by Netflix, possibly avoiding a theatrical release altogether.

The original film debuted in 2008 and it wasn't until 2016 that audiences got any sort of follow-up with 10 Cloverfield Lane. Rather than a direct continuation of the original film's narrative, 10 Cloverfield Lane offered audiences a tense thriller set in a sci-fi world in which previous knowledge of the series was unnecessary.

God Particle writer Oren Uziel claims that, rather than a shared universe, the Cloverfield series represents a brand, similar to that of The Twilight Zone.

"Other than knowing what kind of quality and feel you’re gonna get from something that’s coming out of Bad Robot and J.J.," Uziel told Collider. "It just sort of helps to give an understanding of like, ‘Okay I understand what type of movie this is gonna be.’ As far as specifics, I don’t think there is one specific thread that makes it a Cloverfield movie, I guess.”

Reports have surfaced that a trailer for the third Cloverfield film could premiere during the Super Bowl, which could come along with it a release date. Overlord is expected to hit theaters on October 26.

[H/T SlashFilm]