As expected, it sounds like John Krasinski will indeed be back in the director’s chair for A Quiet Place 2. Krasinski famously rewrote the original script for A Quiet Place, reworking it as a metaphor for parenting while also pitching himself to direct as well as star in it. That worked out remarkably well, as the film is not only extremely well-crafted (and surprisingly emotional), but was a huge box office hit, scoring over $340 million worldwide against a budget of just $17 million.

Based on the film’s success, it was clear Paramount would probably turn it into a franchise. While Krasinski initially declined to be involved (though giving his blessing), he came up with an idea that he agreed to write—though he wouldn’t yet commit to directing. Now Deadline confirms he’s made the decision to get back in the director’s chair, while Paramount previously dated the Quiet Place sequel for release on May 15, 2020—which means filming will undoubtedly begin this year.

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Image via Paramount Pictures

It’s unclear if Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe will return, but Deadline also notes that Emily Blunt has closed a deal to reprise her role. Krasinski has been tight-lipped about the story for the follow-up, but he previously alluded to potentially exploring different characters in the same world—one overrun by alien invaders who hunt by sound:

“Why I had this little idea that’s now gotten bigger is most sequels are about a villain returning or a hero returning, and you have to build this entire world around just the idea that I have a hero or a villain. That’s a lot, and I think that’s where a lot of sequels go wrong because as much as you love that hero or villain, the entire thing is fabricated just to make that person work. [With A Quiet Place 2], we have the world. So it’s actually the world that’s built, it’s the idea that the rest of the world is going through this exact same experience. Are there other people that have to survive like this? It’s that idea of living through the set of circumstances, not again in the same way obviously, but exploring it more. You only got to do it intimately for a small amount of time, so what happens next?”

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Krasinski previously credited his wife, Blunt, for coming up with the perfect description of what he’s doing with this sequel:

“It was actually Emily, of course, who articulated it better than me. She said the same thing, it was like, ‘No way, don’t do a second one,’ and then I pitched her my idea and she was like, ‘So you’re definitely doing that.’ She said, ‘But it’s not a sequel. It’s the second book in a series,’ she said, ‘It sounds [like] semantics but it’s true, it really is—you’re not doing anything that’s like, alright I’m gonna take all the things you love and just kinda repeat them but in a different way.’ It’s not A Quieter Place, it’s sort of an exploration of getting to live in the circumstances, and that’s really fun.”

As a huge fan of A Quiet Place, and in particular what Krasinski pulled off behind the camera, I’m enthused by this news and can’t wait to see what he puts together.

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Image via Paramount Pictures