Everything We Know About A Quiet Place 2 So Far

2018 was a big year for John Krasinski. For most, the actor was best known for playing lovelorn Jim Halpert in nine seasons of The Office, as well as for comedic roles in movies such as Away We Go and The Muppets. There were some eyebrows raised when Krasinski was cast as Jack Ryan in Amazon's adaptation of Tom Clancy's spy thrillers, although he had previously shown his tough guy persona in Michael Bay's military thriller 13 Hours. However, absolutely no one was expecting that he would also direct one of the year's best and most successful horror thrillers.

A Quiet Place wasn't Krasinski's directorial debut; in 2016, he made the little-seen romantic drama The Hollars. However, his second movie really was the calling card for a major filmmaker--a confident, engrossing film that transcended its gimmicky set-up (make a sound and a monster will get you) to become a tense, terrifying, and extremely moving experience. It was highly acclaimed by critics and hugely popular with audiences, and it ultimately grossed more than $340 million worldwide from a production budget of just $17 million.

Inevitably, there was talk of a sequel before the movie had even left theaters. Initially, Krasinski stated that he wasn't interested in returning for a second film, but with a release date in place since 2018, he was eventually confirmed for the sequel. The first trailer has now been released for the movie, so here's everything we know about A Quiet Place: Part II so far...

John Krasinski is returning to direct A Quiet Place: Part II. The news was first reported in Deadline, and Krasinski himself confirmed it via Instagram. While we've known for some time that he would be involved to some degree, this is the first confirmation that he direct it.

Krasinski will also write the script for A Quiet Place: Part II. In an interview with Collider in November 2018, Krasinski stated that he initially had no interest in making a sequel and was happy to let another writer and director take over. However, he was eventually persuaded by producers when he came up with an idea for the second movie and was asked to go ahead and work on the script. Interestingly enough, Krasinski was not the original writer of the first movie, although he did rework the initial spec script by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck.

The main cast of the first movie are set to return, plus some new names. Emily Blunt will be back as Evelyn Abbott, with Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe reprising their roles as Evelyn's kids Regan and Marcus. They will be joined Cillian Murphy, who according to The Hollywood Reporter will play "a man with mysterious intentions who joins the family unit," plus Djimon Hounsou, who replaces the initially-cast Brian Tyree Henry. However, Krasinski himself isn't set to appear as dad Lee, having met an unpleasant end in the first movie.

The trailer reveals that the Quiet Place sequel will take events beyond the single farm setting of the first movie. Evelyn, Regan, and Marcus are on the move and encounter Murphy's character, who warns them that that the people who have survived "are not the kind of people worth saving." The movie will also feature flashbacks that suggest that we might also find out the origins of the monster apocalypse.

In addition, Krasinski previously spoke about the decision to expand the movie's scope. "I had this very small idea, and what it was is that this is a world you can play in," he told EW. "[It] isn't just a character to remake or a group of characters or a story. It's actually a world, which is a whole different, very unique experience."

The first trailer for A Quiet Place: Part 2 was released at the start of January. It's scary and action-packed and suggests a much bigger scope for the movie than the first one.

The first movie had an extremely modest budget of $17 million, which make its massive gross an even more impressive achievement. Emily Blunt took a big pay cut to star in the film, as it was being directed by her husband Krasinski. However, The Hollywood Reporter states that the budget for A Quiet Place: Part II will be "much higher." What we've seen of the movie so far suggests that we will see a lot more money on screen.

A Quiet Place: Part II hits theaters on March 20, 2020. A May 2020 release date was initially announced back in August last year, but this was subsequently moved up two months.