The following contains spoilers for A Quiet Place: Day One, now playing in theaters

A Quiet Place: Day One ends with a clear connection to the previous film in the franchise, which could set up further connections between the movies in the upcoming sequel A Quiet Place III. Whereas A Quiet Place III will seemingly continue the arc of the Abbott family as they try to navigate a world infested with murderous aliens dubbed Death Angels, A Quiet Place: Day One flashes back to their arrival on Earth. Focusing on a pair of survivors in New York City, the film was largely disconnected from the prior two Quiet Place movies.

However, the ending of A Quiet Place: Day One sets up a major connection between the films that could come back into play in future installments. This connection was even confirmed by the film’s writer/director Michael Sarnoski, who has spoken in interviews about the eventual fate of the film’s major survivors. This could be an ideal way to bring back one of the stars of A Quiet Place: Day One for other films in the series, and create a definite connection between the prequel and the story of A Quiet Place III.

A Quiet Place: Day One Sets Up Eric’s Return In A Quiet Place 3

Eric Surviving A Quiet Place: Day One Could Allow Him To Return For The Next Film In The Series

A Quiet Place: Day One ends with Eric seemingly on his way to the same island that appeared in A Quiet Place II, giving the character a clear opportunity to return for the upcoming A Quiet Place III. Eric is one of the protagonists of the prequel alongside Sam and her cat Frodo. Together, the two are able to evade the alien creatures long enough to give Sam closure. Already on the verge of death from cancer, Sam stays behind to cause a distraction so Eric can a ferry carrying survivors away from Manhattan.

As confirmed by the film’s director during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, this leads directly to the situation in A Quiet Place II. Among the survivors also on the ferry with Eric is Henri. Played by Djimon Hounsou, Henri appeared in A Quiet Place II. The island he and his family settled on turns out to be the same island Regan and Emmett. This suggests that Eric was on the island during the latter events of that movie as well, and may be among the survivors who Regan saves by discovering the Death Angel’s weakness.

How A Quiet Place: Day One Connects To A Quiet Place 3’s Setup

A Quiet Place: Day One Sets Up The Island From A Quiet Place II

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A Quiet Place II revealed that Death Angels have trouble crossing open water. This means that islands are an ideal place for humans to retreat, as it makes encounters far less likely. However, that film didn’t make it necessarily clear where the island’s citizens all hailed from. The apparent confirmation that these are all survivors from New York City gives them a shared connection to the events depicted in A Quiet Place: Day One, and allows Eric to easily return for another appearance in the series.

A Quiet Place II‘s ending saw Regan and Marcus utilizing sound against the Death Angels to protect other survivors. It was a defiant ending and one that could inspire more people to fight back against the Death Angels. As a result, the island full of New York survivors could end up playing into the plot of A Quiet Place III and expand efforts to fight back against the creatures. This effort to move to islands may have also been replicated elsewhere, setting up more survivors for the sequel.

What Role Joseph Quinn’s Eric Can Have In A Quiet Place 3

How Eric Could Play Into A Quiet Place III‘s Story

Because of this natural connection between the prequel and the mainline Quiet Place films, it would be easy for Joseph Quinn’s Eric (as well as the cat Frodo) to return for A Quiet Place III. Eric could easily be one of the people who encounters Regan and Emmett after the events of A Quiet Place II, and could factor into their efforts to further combat the Death Angels or help them off the island. With Herni killed in the chaos of that film’s climax, Eric could be forced to take a more prominent position as a leader among the survivors.

Eric could also have been dispatched off-screen, giving Regan a reason to adopt the Quiet Place fan-favorite cat Frodo for her future adventures. The popularity of A Quiet Place: Day One and the purposefully open-ended nature of Eric’s survival invites plenty of questions about his eventual fate. Given the strong reception to the character, it would be a waste for the series to not bring back Eric in some capacity. He could even be the ideal bridge between A Quiet Place: Day One and A Quiet Place III by playing a more important role in the series going forward.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter