The Cloverfield timeline cements it as one of the most unusual movie franchises out there. 2008’s Cloverfield kicks the series off with a found-footage version of a monster movie. Despite its success, there was no word of a sequel until the first trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane dropped and confirmed its connection. This was then followed by the third film, The Cloverfield Paradox, adding a little more connection between the movies beyond just the titles. While “Cloverfield” is in each movie title, none of the sequels were promoted as sequels, and they were simply marketed as standalone films.

https://screenrant.com/cloverfield-movies-timeline-connections-shared-universe/