A Quiet Place Part II

Paramount Pictures produced the first film, A Quiet Place, on a budget of $17 million.[9] The studio 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 grossed $188 million in the US and Canada and ultimately $340.9 million worldwide.[10] John Krasinski, who co-wrote, directed and starred in the first film, said he considered it "as a one-off".[11] Uncertain of finding similar success in a sequel, he initially told Paramount to seek another writer and director.[11] 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".[12] Beck said, "Instead of focusing on sequels per se, it's about investing back into the ecosystem of original ideas in a massive marketplace."[13]

Three months after A Quiet Place's release, Krasinski decided to brainstorm ideas for a sequel.[14] According to Krasinski, Paramount rejected pitches from other writers and directors that were considered too franchise-oriented.[15] 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."[14] The studio invited him to write a script based on his idea.[15] By August 2018, Krasinski was writing the film.[16] 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.[17] In March, Cillian Murphy joined the cast.[18] In the following June, Brian Tyree Henry joined the cast,[19] but he left the film due to scheduling problems. He was replaced by Djimon Hounsou in August.[20]

In June 2019, production began on the sequel.[21] Filming officially commenced on July 15.[22] There were 47 days of filming throughout Western New York, including locations like Akron, Olcott, Dunkirk, Lackawanna, and Buffalo.[23] Other locations included Erie County and the city of North Tonawanda,[24] and Barcelona Harbor in the town of Westfield in Chautauqua County.[25] Filming also took place on a giant sound stage at Buffalo FilmWorks in South Buffalo.[26] One of the last filming locations, the northbound South Grand Island Bridge, was shut down for 13 hours for filming.[27]

In addition to Western New York, filming took place in the NY region of Hudson Valley, specifically the towns of Dover, Pawling, and New Paltz.[28] In New Paltz, the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail was revisited to film on a bridge that featured in the first film.[29] The production invested over $10 million in Upstate New York, created 400 hires, and involved 300 background actors.[30] By late September, production was finished.[31]

Polly Morgan was the cinematographer for A Quiet Place Part II, replacing Charlotte Bruus Christensen from the first film. Morgan continued the first film's use of 35 mm film and described its effect, "Although A Quiet Place 2 is a horror, it looks pretty and engaging, with a nostalgic look that you would find hard to achieve digitally." The film's "extensive dark situations" (night scenes and stage work that comprised 75% of screen time) were shot with Kodak Vision3 500T 5219 film stock, while Vision3 250D 5207 was used mainly for day exteriors. Morgan filmed with Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 cameras and T-Series anamorphic lenses, which had been adjusted to match the C-Series lenses Christensen used on the first film. One of Morgan's most challenging situations was lighting and shooting the furnace set.[7]

The sequel's cinematography also evolved from its predecessor in following more action. Morgan described director Krasinski's intent, "John wanted to always keep the camera moving and create long 'oners' to play with rhythm and tension and to show how normal life can suddenly become very different and dangerous—all in the same shot." Morgan used an array of tracking vehicles, on which there were different camera mounts including jibs, cranes, and Steadicam vests, with the vehicles often going full speed.[7]

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]."[32]

A Quiet Place Part II had its world premiere at the Lincoln Center in New York City on March 8, 2020.[40] Paramount Pictures plans to release the film in theaters on September 17, 2021.[41] Originally set for March 20, 2020, the film's release was then postponed to September 4, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[42] The change to April 23, 2021 was the studio's second postponement,[43] and the change to September 2021 was the third postponement.[41] Without a streaming service from 2020 to early 2021, Paramount auctioned off its upcoming feature films, with the exception of A Quiet Place Part II.[44]

Prior to the March 2020 plans, Paramount had initially planned to release the film on May 15, 2020.[45]

The studio initially planned to release the film in theaters globally starting on March 18, 2020, before it delayed the film's release due to the pandemic.[46] Paramount had already spent around 60% of its budget for global prints and advertising, and Deadline Hollywood wrote that the film's delay was "truly a shocker" because the P&A expense seemed to indicate that rescheduling was not an option.[47] 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.[46] A Quiet Place Part II is among the majority of theatrical releases not changing to a streaming release. CNBC wrote that in particular, the film and In the Heights were considered films best experienced with a crowd.[48]

The film was initially to be released in the United Kingdom and Australia on March 19, 2020,[49] and in the United States and Canada, including Dolby Cinema and IMAX, on March 20, 2020.[33] Paramount initially stated on March 6 that it would not reschedule the film in response to the pandemic,[50] but on March 12, the studio pulled the film from release worldwide with the intent of scheduling it later in the year.[46] In April 2020, it announced the release date of September 4, 2020.[42] The September release date would have been the start of the US holiday weekend Labor Day Weekend. Deadline Hollywood wrote at the time that the weekend is "summer [box office's] finale" and "typically the deadest period ever for moviegoing" but that the studio anticipated pent-up demand after pandemic fears subside.[51]

In July 2020, Paramount changed the film's release date from September 4, 2020 to April 23, 2021. At the time of announcement, movie theaters in the United States and Canada had been closed for nearly four months, and the pandemic was continuing to spread across the United States. The second postponement followed other studios' decisions at the time to indefinitely delay the Warner Bros. film Tenet and the Disney film Mulan. Variety reported, "While those films had been long positioned to help revive moviegoing, sources say that Paramount did not want 'A Quiet Place Part 2' to stay on Labor Day weekend and have the pressure of being the first new movie out of the gate during the pandemic."[43]

In January 2021, Paramount postponed the film's release from April 23, 2021 to September 17, 2021. At the time of postponement, COVID-19 infections had surged in the United States in recent months. Variety wrote of the circumstances in the United States and Canada, "Around 65% of movie theaters remain closed, and cinemas that have stayed open have struggled to sell tickets." The postponement followed other studios' postponements of their films No Time to Die, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Morbius, Cinderella, and The King's Man.[52] On the September 2021 date, A Quiet Place Part II is scheduled to open against Death on the Nile, The Boss Baby: Family Business, and The Man from Toronto.[53]