Though we’ve know for a few months now that John Krasinski has been working on a script for A Quiet Place 2, the question remains of whether or not the director of last year’s horror hit will helm this next installment, but in a recent interview with the New York Times, the filmmaker at least gave fans reason to be optimistic.
While Paramount started taking pitches for sequel ideas after the success of the first movie, Krasinski has admitted to feeling a little protective of the property, adding that he’d love to remain at the helm if he can figure out his vision for the follow-up.
“Paramount was asking a bunch of writers and directors what they might do with it, and to their credit, they didn’t take any of those pitches because they felt a little more franchise-y,” Krasinski said. “Meanwhile, I had this tiny idea that fit that world and could be exciting. Paramount asked if I would write it and I’m doing that now, but I’m still thinking about what I want to do next. If I can crack the idea, I would love to direct it again, and if I can’t, I would love to give it to someone else with my fingerprints on it to make sure it’s being taken care of.”
Krasinski went on to stress that it’s important to him that A Quiet Place 2 remains true to the spirit of the first film.
“I know that anyone reading this will be like, ‘Yeah right, art guy,’ but I do have sort of a parental feeling about this movie, and I don’t want A Quiet Place to turn into an action movie where 400 people have machine guns. Or did I give away the ending to the sequel?”
From the sound of things, this protectiveness towards A Quiet Place was a major reason why Krasinski chose to get involved in the second installment, with the filmmaker claiming that he initially didn’t want to make a sequel, but knew Paramount would push forward with another movie whether he was involved or not.
“I can’t stop them from doing [a sequel]. I’m a realist, I know how the studio operates,” the Krasinski said. “At first, I wanted nothing to do with a sequel — I told my wife, ‘It can never be this good again.’ And she said, ‘Of course it won’t. Take this movie, put it on a mantel so you can look at it anytime you want, and then go out and do something else.’”
In a recent interview with Deadline, Krasinski recalled how he was “basically mind-tricked” into wanting to pen the follow-up once the studio started talking to other writers. But regardless of his reasons for coming back, fans are anxious to learn where he intends to take this series.
In the past, Krasinski has hinted that he’s more interested in further exploring the post-apocalyptic world introduced in the first movie than continuing the story of the Abbott family, but whatever idea he ends up going with, we’ll find out when A Quiet Place 2 hits theaters on May 15th, 2020.