Despite its soft-pedaling title, a lot of noise is emanating from Hollywood these days over “A Quiet Place.” Industry insiders this week are reporting that Paramount is negotiating with “Pig” director Michael Sarnoski to write and direct the anticipated third installment to the series, described by Deadline as “not being a threequel but rather a spinoff.”
“A Quiet Place Part II,” released last year, has earned nearly $300 million in worldwide box-office revenues as the first theater-only release in the pandemic era. “Pig” helped Sarnoski earn some directorial credits while stoking speculation that actor Nicholas Cage might garner an Oscar nomination for his leading role.
As for “Pig,” that film was released last year, not only putting Sarnoski on the directing map but also garnering some awards attention, especially for star Nicolas Cage, who is under discussion as a possible Oscar nominee. Pig hogged a cornucopia of awards, including the National Board of Review’s prize for Best Directorial Debut, plus a Gotham Award nomination for Best Feature, as well as recognition by many critics’ associations.
The news comes on the heels of Jeff Nichols’s departure from the project to direct other fantasy titles for Paramount. It’s not expected that Emily Blunt and John Krasinski will appear in the planned threequel, though Krasinski will be one of the producers under the aegis of his Sunday Night Productions entity, teaming up with Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller.
Debuting in 2018, A Quiet Place cast Blunt and Krasinski in a post-apocalyptic thriller about a couple trying to shield their family from predatory aliens capable of tracking their human prey by the sounds they made. A Quiet Place II was equally successful at the box office and in critical reviews. It’s expected that the yet-unnamed threequel will be released by mid-2023.