A Quiet Place Part II sets up multiple spinoffs but which story would be the best spinoff idea? In June 2021, it was announced Jeff Nichols’ upcoming spinoff film set in the franchise would get a 2023 release, and the storyline will reportedly broaden the post-apocalyptic world of the first two movies. While Nichols is perfectly capable of exploring the Shanghai incident from A Quiet Place 2, his filmmaking resume implies that he’ll focus on something else entirely.
In 2007, Nichols released his debut feature, Shotgun Stories, a crime drama set in rural Arkansas about feuding siblings. The film stars Michael Shannon and takes place in a post-apocalyptic universe similar in ways to the one in A Quiet Place, much like Nichols’ 2011 follow-up, Take Shelter, a sci-fi drama about a Midwestern man who senses a looming apocalyptic event. With Mud, a 2012 drama starring Matthew McConaughey, Nichols made yet another gritty film that thematically aligns with A Quiet Place Part 2’s boat people subplot, as a fugitive hides on an island and receives assistance from unsuspecting youths. Given that Nichols’ other features are similarly focused on human relationships, his screenplay for the upcoming Quiet Place spinoff will likely have a similar premise, and there’s already a perfect storyline set up by the sequel for him to explore.
Scoot McNairy’s limited role in A Quiet Place Part II easily teases a prequel movie. He portrays Marina Man, a human cannibal who attacks Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds) as she attempts to reach an island with Emmett (Cillian Murphy). McNairy is a respected character actor, if not a well-known name, and his brief screen time and strange character beg to be explored further. The same applies to Djimon Hounsou’s unnamed island character, a man who appears to be helpful but may have a dark backstory. In the sequel, Krasinski’s dramatic marina people/island subplot could easily be the premise for a spinoff, particularly for a director with Nichols’ narrative sensibilities.
Nichols’ experience with sci-fi dark, character-driven dramas is the perfect match for a story exploring why the marina people resorted to cannibalism. In the sequel, audiences learn that the U.S. government led a mission to transport various boats to the island, and that some of them didn’t make it. It’s possible that McNairy’s group of marina people became sick in contaminated water, which could explain their physical appearance and state of mind in A Quiet Place Part II. They also could have been part of the original island community but were forced out for unknown reasons. It sets up a great prequel story for a spinoff. If McNairy and Hounsou were to headline a Quiet Place prequel movie, it would flesh out two underused but intriguing characters from the sequels. Based on Nichols’ screenwriting resume, he’d most likely explore the good and bad of both characters, retroactively putting A Quiet Place 2 in a whole new light.
Aside from the upcoming Quiet Place spinoff, Nichols also has another sci-fi film in development for Paramount. Since there’s little evidence to suggest that he’ll make a proper blockbuster, both movies will probably have modest budgets and focus on the human element, which is his strength. In the future, A Quiet Place Part III can further develop the character Emmett and explore the Shanghai event, while the spinoff can explain the backstories of the marina people and island survivors in A Quiet Place 2, along with the social circumstances that connect them. Nichols’ spinoff can add depth and richness to an already fascinating universe.
