The A Quiet Place cinematic universe is set to expand, as a spin-off of the hit horror film series is in development, Collider is reporting. The franchise’s next entry is expected to be released in March 2023.
The spin-off reportedly won’t be a direct sequel to A Quiet Place Part II, which is now playing in theaters. Instead of continuing the Abbott family’s story that was featured in the follow-up to A Quiet Place, the spin-off will be set in the same universe, but focus on different characters.
The planned spin-off will be written and directed by Take Shelter scribe-helmer, Jeff Nichols. The filmmaker will be taking over the scribing and helming duties for the franchise’s upcoming spin-off from Emmy Award-nominated actor-filmmaker, John Krasinski, who wrote and directed the first two entries. But The Office alum is expected to return to the series to serve as a producer on the spin-off.
Krasinski revealed in an interview with Collider last year that he has also considered making a second direct follow-up to A Quiet Place that will continue the Abbott family’s original storyline. He gave some hints at how the initial idea of creating another direct sequel came into play.
“It’s interesting, I genuinely hadn’t thought about a second one when I was doing the first one. However, I really had these questions while I was doing it. I put the fires out in the distance in the first one, and I always thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we got to explore where those fires lead to? Who’s on the other end of those fires?,'” the Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker shared.
“But I never thought that there would be a sequel. So then when I actually came around to writing the sequel, I started with the fires. And so this time, I think when my brain started wandering of questions of what would this mean later on, I started to write down notes in case I could prepare myself for a third one,” Krasinski added.
The news of the spin-off’s release comes as A Quiet Place Part II is nearing a $100 million gross at the worldwide box office, a week after its distribution in theaters. Krasinski’s real-life and on-screen wife, Emily Blunt, has also revealed that her husband has already been developing ideas for the second direct sequel to the original thriller. The first movie grossed $341 million at the box office in 2018, and garnered her a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in 2019, which increased the likelihood of the feature receiving multiple follow-ups.