Watch Super 8 Trailer Right Now

J.J. Abrams, the creator of television series Lost and the producer of monster flick Cloverfield, is teaming up with Steven Spielberg for a new feature film called Super 8. This is your first look at the picture.

Directed by Abrams and produced by Spielberg, Super 8 was rumoured to be either a prequel or a sequel to Cloverfield — a rumour that Abrams flat out denied. The film opens with the rattling of railroad cars and a title card that reads: “In 1979, the U.S. Air Force closed a section of Area 51″.

The trailer jumps to a railroad crossing and shows what looks like a truck pulling into the frame. “All materials were to be transported to a secure facility in Ohio,” reads the second title card.

The truck peels out and heads towards the train, smashing into it and causing an explosive train wreck. Among the fiery wreckage is an U.S. Air Force container that is pounded open by something inside. “Next summer,” the titles cards conclude, “It arrives.”

The film’s screenplay is apparently based on a story by Abrams and Spielberg. While Spielberg is a creative force in his own right, he isn’t exactly known as a writer per se. He did get a story credit on Poltergeist, The Goonies and The Sugarland Express as well as a writer credit on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.