Hush-hush info on the Blunt/Krasinski sequel.
A QUIET PLACE PART II I The much-anticipated sequel to 2018’s surprise hit will expand the world and introduce new threats…
Ireally didn’t want to do the second one at all, because I didn’t know that I could find something as pure to me,” says writer/director John Krasinski, whose 2018 horror movie A Quiet Place crept out of nowhere to score a deafening box-office kerching – $341m from a modest $17m budget.
Krasinki, still best known to many as Jim Halpert from The Office, describes the first film as “a love letter to my children”. And while that might seem odd given it possesses terrifying alien creatures that hunt their human prey by sound in a post-apocalyptic world, it makes sense when you consider that it focused squarely on the Abbott family – dad Lee (Krasinki), mum Evelyn (Krasinski’s real-life spouse Emily Blunt), daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) who is deaf, and son Marcus (Noah Jupe) – and mused upon the theme of just how far parents will go to protect their young. In Lee’s case, he ultimately sacrificed himself so that his family might survive. The perfect end to the perfect metaphor, so why sign up for a sequel?
“He was suddenly like, ‘I have an idea,’ smiles Blunt, recalling the first glint in her hubby’s eye. “He then just started to pitch it. Not even to pitch – just to talk out loud. And both of our interests in it accelerated…”
Before we get to that idea, “Action!” is called on set. It’s a bright August day in 2019, and Teasers is standing amid the desolate steelworks of Seneca in Buffalo, New York, as Blunt races through the disused building only for Cillian Murphy’s mysterious stranger, Emmett, to lurch out and grab her.
In the finished film, the ambush will no doubt play as a heart-in-mouth
moment. But today, the most startling thing is just how much noise there is on set, for the ‘silence = survival’ premise of this franchise means there isn’t much dialogue, which in turn means Krasinski can excitedly bellow directions without fear of quashing his actors’ lines. “You can talk your actors through things in a way that certainly you can’t in other movies,” he grins. “That said, one of the things in the edit that’s the most frustrating to me is editing out my voice going, ‘Great! Good job! Do more of this!’”
But back to that unfinished business: what is the big idea behind the juicy scares of Part II? “This movie is very much about loss, and how you deal with loss,” he says. “It’s about that promise that you make to your kids – “if you stay with me, you’ll be safe” – and the inevitability of that promise being broken. Every parent knows that one day, your children will have to go out in the world without you.”
So this is a sequel about growing up, and Krasinki’s lightbulb moment was to make 17-year-old Simmonds the lead. Blunt, who of course also plays a major part, has no doubts that her young co-star is equal to the task, saying, “She’s so capable, and Regan is such a fascinating character…” As for Simmonds herself, she sees it as a natural progression of the story that so gripped viewers the first time out.
“Regan is devastated to lose her father, but she feels like she wants to become him, replace him,” she says, pointing out that Part II picks up right where A Quiet Place left off. “Regan’s very resourceful, and she knows the technology her dad had. She can become the head of the family.” And in so doing, Simmonds becomes the head of the franchise, or at least stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Blunt. “It’s truly just such a joy,” she beams. “I’m glad that the two of us can be good role models for young women to look up to. As a child, my mum was my role model, so it feels like this is a really perfect role for me.”
Plot-wise, understandably no one wants to give too much away, though we do know that the surviving Abbots will leave their farm to explore the world out there. To not just survive but to thrive is the plan, but you can bet they’ll encounter new threats.
“Are these creatures everywhere? Are they not? Who knows?” teases Simmonds, while Blunt and Krasinski hint that the creatures might not be the only danger out there. Let’s not forget that in George Romero’s zombie movies, it’s other humans that are the biggest monsters. “If the first one was about parenthood and the unity that a family can have, the second one explores the idea of a fractured sense of community,” says Blunt. “I think we’re all feeling this in the world right now. This is that, magnified. How far would you go to extend your hand for your neighbour in times like these?” Maybe Murphy’s Emmett will be a danger? Or Djimon Hounsou’s character, who’s being kept firmly under wraps?
Krasinski smiles evasively. “First off, they bring the acknowledgement of other people. One of the biggest questions I had when I was pondering the first script was: how does everyone else live? I never wanted to go outside the farm – I wanted to keep it very tight and in the perspective of one family – but it was always in the back of my head. And then to see the reaction from the first movie, and that people had that same question, was inspiring to me. So it was something I felt very much I wanted to explore.”
Beyond that, Krasinski and Blunt are keeping aptly schtum. So let’s turn to the new lead of the franchise to tell us what she’s most excited about for viewers to see in the sequel.
“Well, I’m a fan of the dark and the creepy, so I think I’m really excited for audiences to experience that,” she laughs. “Because there’s going to be more of that in this one.”
Now that’s a scary thought. JG/JC
‘REGAN’S VERY RESOURCEFUL. SHE CAN BECOME THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY’ MILLICENT SIMMONDS
ETA | 4 SEPTEMBER / A QUIET PLACE PART II OPENS IN THE AUTUMN.