Given A Quiet Place's performance at the box office, a sequel was inevitable. What was in doubt though was whether or not writer-director John Krasinski was going to return. Although we now know that he will be returning to write the sequel, John Krasinski originally wasn't going to do A Quiet Place 2, preferring to leave the original as a special experience he had with wife Emily Blunt, as he explained:
That was my intention for the movie itself. Then I had this small idea for a sequel, but I didn't think it would go anywhere. So, I said to the studio, 'Just go do the movie with somebody else.'
Beyond just being a critical and commercial success, A Quiet Place was very personal for John Krasinski because he and his wife were in it together, so you can see how he might want to leave it as this singular, special experience. The first film was unlikely to get made in the first place, and even in the wake of its success, John Krasinski didn't expect to be involved in the sequel.
Yet despite having no intentions to return, the director did have an idea for the sequel swimming around in his head, but as reported by THR, he dismissed it and told the studio to move forward without him. So Paramount did just that and listened to pitches for A Quiet Place 2. But John Krasinski hadn't shut his mind to the sequel entirely and he told one of the producers his idea:
They heard some pitches, and I told Drew [Form, producer] about this little idea. And he told me to think about it a little longer. And then I thought, 'This might really work.' So, I'm currently writing the sequel.
Ideas do not leave the mind so easily, and John Krasinski's sequel idea was percolating around in his head until he told producer Drew Form. Once it was out of his head, he began thinking about it some more and now he's writing A Quiet Place 2.
He may have started not wanting to be involved in such a hands-on way with the sequel, but a having a good story in your head and the option to tell it is powerfully persuasive. That's part of what makes John Krasinski's return as writer for A Quiet Place 2 so exciting.
Although we had heard that John Krasinski would be involved in the sequel, we did not know in what capacity. He could have just taken a producer credit and sent the project on its way. The fact that he came back specifically because he had an idea for the story is encouraging.
We know that John Krasinski's ideas are a big part of what made A Quiet Place the movie and success it was. The film originally included flashbacks and a different opening, but Jim Halpert adjusted the script to give it a different structure, less dialogue and added other little details that made the film so great.
As far as what John Krasinski has in store for A Quiet Place 2, it is too early to say and I imagine things will be kept quiet (pun intended) for some time. He has spoken in the past about exploring what is going on elsewhere at the same time in the story, perhaps following different characters.
A Quiet Place 2 tiptoes into theaters on May 15, 2020. That's a long ways off, but there is plenty of big movies coming out to hold you off until then. Check out next year's lineup in our 2019 release schedule.
