The horror gene has been in a serious renaissance over the past few years, as filmmakers bring new and exciting projects to theaters. This has typically resulted in box office and critical success, with more acclaimed horror flicks being green lit in the process. John Krasinski's big screen directorial debut is one example of this, as A Quiet Place made a ton of money and picked up some award nominations. A sequel was quickly green lit, but the movie's writers are taking a step back for A Quiet Place: Part II.
John Krasinski wrote the first A Quiet Place alongside Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. The three brought the sensory experience to theaters, with a story that balanced family drama with apocalyptic survival. But Krasinski is taking over writing duties for the highly anticipated sequel, and now the writers have explained why. As Scott Beck explained:
As creators of essentially the movie and the franchise, we always have our hand in the mix. But what was really funny about opening weekend last year is, it was almost immediate that the studio announced there'd be a sequel. What our reaction was, and what John's reaction was, like, 'I don't know if it needs a sequel.'
It looks like Woods and Beck weren't sure that A Quiet Place needed a sequel at all. The movie had a definitive arc and killer ending, so the writers might not have been flowing with creative ideas to continue the Abbott family's journey through the apocalypse.
From a storytelling perspective, A Quiet Place probably could have done just fine without a sequel, despite the exciting cliffhanger ending. Moviegoers watched as the family attempted to survive and understand the sound-driven aliens that were massacring the living population. John Krasinkis' Lee eventually sacrificed himself to save his kids, before Evelyn and Regan figured out the monster's weakness and finally took one in their basement.
Related: John Krasinski’s ‘A Quiet Place 2’: What We Know So Far
The movie ended with Evelyn cocking her shotgun, determined to take down as many of the monsters as possible. While it was originally a hopeful tag to A Quiet Place's story, it also potentially set up a sequel. After earning $340.9 million at the box office, a follow-up movie quickly became a reality.
In their same conversation with Comic Book, Scott Beck went on to explain why the writers took a step back from A Quiet Place, helping with the story without actually tending to the screenplay. As he put it:
We always envisioned it collectively as a standalone film, and very much like what Bryan and I were trying to mount on the wake of A Quiet Place is actually what we consider learning the right lesson, is that there actually is space for original ideas on a big theatrical level. So the decision that Bryan and I made was we'll be passively involved in it. And what was great was John ended up cracking an idea that he really loved and he took the ball and ran with it.
While Bryan Woods and Scott Beck never planned to continue the story of A Quiet Place, it seems that John Krasinski knew exactly where he wanted to take the Abbotts in Part II. So the director became even more intimate in the process than before as a result. But since Lee died at the end of the first movie, Krasinski presumably won't also have to star in the upcoming sequel, freeing up his energy to take on more writing duties.
A Quiet Place: Part II is currently set to arrive in theaters on March 20, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
