Those of you who have seen Iron Man 2 in theatres were treated to a first glimpse into the next cinematic project from J.J. Abrams.

Here’s what we know so far about Super 8.  It’s a sci-fi film set in 1979 written and directed by J.J. Abrams (M:I3, Cloverfield, Star Trek).  Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Bryan Burk serve as executive producers.  It’s being distributed and promoted by Paramount Pictures and produced by Abrams’ Bad Robot and Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment teams.  According to Deadline,  Super 8 is “a personal passion project for Abrams, an homage to the films he loved as a teen.”  Abrams recently squashed rumors by confirming that it has no relation to Cloverfield.  It will cost around $45 million to shoot and it will be shot in traditional style (unlike Cloverfield‘s shaky cam ways).

So what’s it about?  Well, up until today zero plot detail was spilled, just the way Abrams likes it.  But now that there’s a teaser trailer out in the wild there are some pertinent facts to be divulged.  Please watch the trailer I’ve posted above; it’s good for your health, really.  Here’s what we get.  There’s a truck, it veers onto a train track and heads straight towards an incoming train.  We get these words: “In 1979, the US Air Force closed a section of Area 51.  All the materials were to be transported to a secure facility in Ohio.”  Truck slams into train, big explosion.  The camera looks at a train car that seems to contain some sort of destructive beast, erm, alien?  “Next summer, it arrives.”  End scene.  Yup, I’m salivating.

Production for Super 8 begins this fall and it’s expected to hit theatres Summer 2011.

[Via Deadline]