A Quiet Place Part II is a 2020 American horror film and sequel to A Quiet Place (2018). The sequel film was written and directed by John Krasinski and stars Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe, reprising their roles from the first film. Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou also joined the cast. Krasinski also reprises his role from the first film in newly-filmed flashback sequences.

Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the first film, began development of a sequel in April 2018 following the box office success of the first film. By the following August, Krasinski was writing the film, and he was hired in February 2019 to direct. Production took place in Western New York from June to September 2019.

The film had its world premiere in New York City on March 8, 2020. Paramount initially planned to release the film commercially in late March 2020, but the studio postponed the release to later in the year due to the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.

Synopsis

"Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path."^[3]

— Paramount Pictures

Cast

• Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott
• Cillian Murphy as Emmett. Murphy described his character Emmett, "For me, Emmett represents where the heart of the world lies right now, which is: finally feeling like they've all given up. Here comes this girl [Regan] who allows you to believe in more, and allows you to believe in yourself. That idea, I've always been really enthralled by."^[4]
• Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott, Lee and Evelyn's daughter and Marcus's sister. Simmonds described her character's evolution after the first film, "She has a lot of pressure to become an adult very quickly." She has more of a leading role in the sequel, and according to Syfy Wire, "Deafness and ASL are inherently linked to the heroism of its heroine." Simmonds worked with an ASL coach to make sure her signing and articulation were clean. She said she felt "a sense of pressure" being in a position to represent the deaf and hard of hearing.^[5]
• Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott, Lee and Evelyn's son and Regan's brother
• Djimon Hounsou
• John Krasinski as Lee Abbott, Evelyn's deceased husband and Regan and Marcus's father.^[6] He appears in newly-filmed flashback sequences. Krasinski said he wrote himself into the sequel because the first film "was such a personal experience" and his "love letter" to his children. He said, "It was really important for me to continue the metaphor and we actually start dealing with how this all started."^[7]

Production

Paramount Pictures produced the first film, A Quiet Place, on a budget of $17 million.^[8] Paramount released the film in the United States and Canada in April 2018 and grossed $50.2 million on opening weekend, well above a mid-$20 million forecast. Later in April, Paramount Chair and CEO Jim Gianopulos announced that a sequel was in development. The first film ultimately grossed $188 million in the US and Canada and $340.9 million worldwide.^[9] John Krasinski, who co-wrote, directed and starred in the first film, said he considered it "as a one-off".^[10] Uncertain of finding similar success in a sequel, he initially told Paramount to seek another writer and director.^[10] The first film's screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods did not return for the sequel. Woods said they were not interested in a franchise approach and that they would rather try "to create original ideas" and use their writing credits "as an opportunity to push several projects".^[11] Beck said, "Instead of focusing on sequels per se, it's about investing back into the ecosystem of original ideas in a massive marketplace."^[12]

Three months after A Quiet Place's release, Krasinski decided to brainstorm ideas for a sequel.^[13] According to Krasinski, Paramount rejected pitches from other writers and directors that were considered too franchise-oriented.^[14] He said, "I had this small idea, which was to make Millie [Simmonds] the lead of the movie... her character opens the door to all the themes I was dealing with in the first movie."^[13] The studio invited him to write a script based on his idea.^[14] By August 2018, Krasinski was writing the film.^[15] In the following February, he was hired to direct the sequel, and actors Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe were confirmed to reprise their roles.^[16] In March, Cillian Murphy joined the cast.^[17] In the following June, Brian Tyree Henry joined the cast,^[18] but he left the film due to scheduling problems. He was replaced by Djimon Hounsou in August.^[19]

In June, production began on the sequel.^[20] Filming officially commenced on July 15, 2019.^[21] There were 47 days of filming throughout Western New York, including locations like Akron, Olcott, Dunkirk, Lackawanna, and Buffalo.^[22] Other locations included Erie County and the city of North Tonawanda,^[23] and Barcelona Harbor in the town of Westfield in Chautauqua County.^[24] Filming also took place on a sound stage in Buffalo. One of the last filming locations, the northbound South Grand Island Bridge, was shut down for 13 hours for filming.^[25] The production invested over $10 million in Upstate New York, created 400 hires, and involved 300 background actors.^[26] By late September, production was finished.^[27]

For the sequel's sound design, supervising sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn and re-recording mixer Brandon Proctor reprised their roles. Krasinski instructed them to try to "follow the rules" set up in the first film and said of the experience, "What we found was by doing that, and not trying to be cool, we ended up uncovering way more stuff than we ever would've been able to [otherwise]."^[28]

Marketing

Paramount Pictures previewed a 30-second teaser trailer for A Quiet Place Part II before select theatrical screenings of Black Christmas, which was released on December 13, 2019. Less than a week later, the teaser trailer became available online. A full trailer was released on January 1, 2020.^[3] During pre-game coverage before the Super Bowl LIV on February 2, 2020, Paramount released a 30-second TV spot,^[6] which revealed that Krasinski reprised his role in a newly-filmed flashback sequence.^[29]

In March, Paramount initiated "survival room" experiences in New York and Los Angeles in which groups of visitors can try to overcome "physical and mental obstacles" without making too much noise.^[30] The setups cost less than a million dollars for Paramount. A marketing executive anticipated between seven thousand and eight thousand people to go through the experiences and for fans and social media influencers to engage in experiential marketing.^[31] Paramount will also host a double-feature event that screens the first and second films with collectors prints provided to attendees.^[32]

Emily Blunt appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 10 to promote the film. She appeared in a parody commercial advertising A Quiet Plane, starring as a stewardess that enforces silence as a top priority to a plane's passengers.^[33]

Box office forecast

In January 2020, BoxOffice predicted the film would gross $72 million in its initially-announced opening weekend in late March 2020. (The film was postponed due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.) It based the forecast on the first film's success on its own opening weekend ($50.2 million) and in the long run, the sequel's early social metrics being strong, and the continued involvement of Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. The site also noted that the film would face competition from the likes of Mulan.^[34][35] In February, early industry tracking had the film debuting to around $55-60 million.^[36][37] Analysts compared the debut to those of recent films Us, A Quiet Place, Halloween, and It Chapter Two. Deadline Hollywood's Anthony D'Alessandro wrote, "A Quiet Place Part II is currently strong with females under 25, African Americans and Hispanic demos, but overall I hear it's strong with all quads."^[36]

Release

A Quiet Place Part II had its world premiere in New York City on March 8, 2020.^[38] Paramount Pictures planned to release the film in theaters globally starting on March 18, 2020 before it delayed the film's release to later in the year due to the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. Director John Krasinski said he wanted moviegoers to see the film together and that with the pandemic, it was not the right time to provide that experience.^[39] Deadline Hollywood said that according to sources, Paramount spent around 60% of its budget for global prints and advertising. The periodical wrote that the film's delay was "truly a shocker" because the P&A expense seemed to indicate that rescheduling was not an option.^[40] Fast Company's David Lidsky wrote on March 13, "Paramount should not put A Quiet Place Part II on the shelf until things get better," citing a crowded release schedule and instead suggesting to make it available on CBS All Access.^[41]

The film was initially to be released in the United Kingdom and Australia on March 19, 2020,^[42] and in the United States and Canada, including Dolby Cinema and IMAX, on March 20, 2020.^[3] Paramount initially stated on March 6 that it would not reschedule the film in response to the pandemic,^[35] but on March 12, the studio pulled the film from release worldwide with the intent of scheduling it later in the year.^[39] Almost a year earlier, the film had initially been scheduled to be released on May 15, 2020.^[43]

Producer Brad Fuller said for the film's US release, Paramount sought to maintain a PG-13 rating (parental guidance suggested) like its predecessor and to avoid an R rating (restricted audiences) to appeal to a broad audience, including those who are offput by blood in R-rated horror films.^[44]