A significant revelation from A Quiet Place: Day One‘s trailer sets up the possibility of creator John Krasinki’s return to the franchise in front of the camera, but such a comeback would create some problems. Serving as a prequel to the franchise’s acclaimed first two installments, Day One can provide some much-needed answers about A Quiet Place‘s alien invasion. Its unique position in the timeline and setting also allows some characters’ stories to be expanded.
Set for release in June 2024, A Quiet Place: Day One stars Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and returnee Djimon Hounsou as individuals desperately struggling to survive the onset of an alien invasion. As the title implies, the film is set right at the start of series’ timeline, providing some important insight into how the world fell. While Djimon Hounsou’s character will provide some connection to A Quiet Place: Part II, exactly how the movie will tie in is unclear. However, one important detail about the movie’s setting has already provided a link to the Abbott family and John Krasinski’s deceased patriarch.
A Quiet Place: Day One Cast & Character Guide
A Quiet Place: Day One is already building an extremely talented cast filled with some of today’s most popular actors and actresses in its main roles.
A Quiet Place: Day One’s New York Setting Means The Abbott Family Can Return
As revealed in A Quiet Place: Day One‘s trailer, much of the movie will take place in New York. Establishing shots feature the city’s signature skyline, before further footage shows the city’s panicked population desperately trying to escape the alien attack. This development – coupled with the inclusion of Djimon Hounsou’s character from A Quiet Place: Part II places the movie firmly within the same location as the franchise’s previous two installments. Given its position in the timeline, over a year before those movies take place, A Quiet Place: Day One also allows other characters previously assumed dead to make their return.
Despite sacrificing himself in the original movie, John Krasinski’s Lee Abbott is perfectly placed to make such a comeback. The Abbotts themselves were based in upstate New York, with their location away from major population centers giving them the best chance of survival. As anyone leftover from the Day One attack will inevitably try to flee New York City, it’s possible that they could meet Lee Abbott – albeit at an earlier point in the A Quiet Place timeline. As exciting as this potential return is, however, there are some problems.
Djimon Hounsou Cannot Meet Emily Blunt’s Character In A Quiet Place: Day One
While A Quiet Place: Day One‘s characters escaping could set them on a path to meeting the Abbotts, the series’ established canon prevents some of them from interacting. A key takeaway from the trailer is Lupita Nyong’o’s Sam and Hounsou’s hitherto unnamed character appear nearly inseparable, featuring together in several tense moments. Simultaneously, in A Quiet Place: Part II, it is clear that Hounsou has never met the surviving family members before their arrival on the island. This means that, if Krasinski does make a return and comes across Nyong’o and Hounsou, it can’t be when he’s with his family.
Of course, there are ways that Krasinski could interact with Hounsou and Nyong’o by himself. It’s easy to imagine Lee on a solo scouting mission, coming across the pair as they escape the city. Indeed, A Quiet Place: Part II opens with Lee by himself on a shopping trip, providing a template for how such a scene might work. However, A Quiet Place: Day One must take care with the franchise’s continuity and avoid confusing key characters’ stories for the sake of an Easter egg.
Why John Krasinski Returning In A Quiet Place: Day One Would Be A Mistake
Although Krasinksi’s Lee Abbott has been a popular member of the franchise, his death and limited appearance in A Quiet Place and Part II provided a natural closure to his arc. Including him in a third movie, while initially gratifying, would actually risk undermining the purpose of the prequel – namely, to expand the world of the A Quiet Place films. Already, shifting the action to New York City is a positive step in this direction. However, including Krasinski could undermine that objective.
By returning to the same established characters, A Quiet Place: Day One could risk making the franchise’s whole universe feel smaller. Although the Abbotts are justifiably popular, the series shouldn’t be constrained by needing to return to them time and time again. Djimon Hounsou’s A Quiet Place return is already contentious enough – the prequel would do well to avoid other similar surprises.
A Quiet Place: Day One
- Release Date
- June 28, 2024
- Director
- Michael Sarnoski
- Cast
- Lupita Nyong’o , Joseph Quinn , Alex Wolff
