The J.J. Abrams-produced Cloverfield opens Jan 18, and the monster in it is surrounded in mystery. Slashfilm posted three “news” clips from the movie. The clips are in Italian, Spanish and German, and someone has provided translations of the Spanish and German clips.

If you look very carefully in the distance, you can sort of see something moving off. I’d previously guessed at maybe a Gojira (Godzilla) or Mothra, but someone else blogged that maybe it’s Cthulhu, a fictional evil creature created by H.P. Lovecraft. (I vaguely recall something from a long time ago that you should never say that name aloud three times in a row, lest you summon this creature.)

Given that the blurry object seems alive and looks as if it has tentacles and seems to be water-based (judging by the “news” clips), it very well could be Cthulhu. In fact, if you check out a fan graphic of the Cloverfield monster from DougBot [via Wayangtopia] from last Sept., it looks like a mutated killer whale that could actually be a variation of the drawings of Cthulhu that I’ve seen over the years. (If I understand correctly, this drawing is simply Doug Williams musings on what the Cloverfield monster could look like.)

Other speculations on other sites seem to also be based on interpretations of Cthulhu, and at least a few Lovecraft fans hope it is the “great old one”. (Note: Cthulhu is often drawn as a semi-humanoid creature with a head that looks like an entire octopus.)

In addition to Cloverfied – which is directed by Matt Reeves – Abrams is producing and directing Star Trek XI, which opens Dec 25th.