A Quiet Place: Day One director Michael Sarnoski and star Lupita Nyong’o explain its Lord of the Rings Easter eggs. A prequel to the two prior Quiet Place movies, the apocalyptic horror film follows a woman in New York City during the early stages of the alien invasion by creatures who possess ultrasonic hearing. Nyong’o leads the Quiet Place: Day One cast as Sam alongside Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Djimon Hounsou, the last of whom reprises his role from A Quiet Place Part II.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sarnoski and Nyong’o explained the Lord of the Rings Easter eggs present in A Quiet Place: Day One, starting with how the main character is named Sam and her cat Frodo. Beyond the character names, there are numerous parallels between the two stories, which the director explains. Read their full comments below:

Sarnoski: Watching Lord of the Rings growing up, watching all the behind the scenes was a big part of falling in love with movie making and the potential for both beautifully meaningful, emotional storytelling and huge scope and excitement. So, yeah, definitely there was a lot to that.

Nyong’o: Our director is enough of a nerd. He chose that name, and I thought it was really quite apt because [the cat] is that companion. Our relationship has a very steep arc.

Sarnoski: Sam and Frodo carry a lot of weight, and I think there is a real odyssey element to this, even though we’re contained within this city of New York. How people support each other through that journey is an important part of it… I think you could make an argument for that. It’s a little calmer and quieter than what Mordor would be. They definitely have a goal through this movie that means a lot to them, and that is important. They would die to get there.

A Quiet Place: Day One’s LOTR Easter Eggs Explained

The Parallels Extend Beyond The Character Names

Taking place before the events of the first two Quiet Place movies, Day One centers on Sam, a woman visiting New York City with her cat, named Frodo, when the creatures with ultrasonic hearing first invade Earth. Attempting to survive and flee the city, she joins forces with a total stranger, Eric (Quinn). The love that Sarnoski, who previously wrote and directed Pig, has for Lord of the Rings is quite evident in Day One, extending beyond the fact that two of the main characters are named Sam and Frodo.

Lord of the Rings played a significant role in developing Sarnoski’s love for filmmaking and demonstrating the potential for stories that are both emotionally meaningful and grand in scope. Apart from the character names, Sarnoski infused A Quiet Place: Day One‘s story (which he conceived with the franchise’s original director John Krasinski) with the adventurous spirit of Lord of the Rings. In both stories, Sam and Frodo carry significant symbolic weight. Despite being set solely in New York City, Day One unfolds like an odyssey and how the characters support one another through these challenges is a crucial theme.

The apocalyptic version of New York City depicted in Day One also shares some similarities with Mordor. Sarnoski sees an argument for this comparison, even though Day One‘s New York City is a lot calmer and quieter, considering the franchise’s creatures hunt by sound. Similar to their Lord of the Rings counterparts, A Quiet Place: Day One‘s Sam and Frodo have a goal that is incredibly important to them, one they are willing to sacrifice their lives to achieve.

Source: EW