Paramount Pictures’ A Quiet Place spinoff has a new director. Michael Sarnoski, who directed Nicolas Cage in the critically acclaimed film Pig, is in talks to direct the film, reports Deadline. He will take over from Jeff Nichols, the director of Take Shelter, Mud and Loving.
Not too much is known about the project, but it is not going to be A Quiet Place Part III. It is based on a new idea from John Krasinski, who directed and starred in the first two films. However, Krasinski and Emily Blunt are not expected to be in the movie. Instead, Paramount hopes the project can help expand the A Quiet Place universe and see if it can survive without Krasinski’s stewardship.
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Nichols left the project in October, reportedly to move on to another science fiction project he is working on at Paramount. In June, the studio scheduled the movie for March 31, 2023. It seems unlikely it would meet that date though because of the director switch.
The A Quiet Place franchise launched in 2018 and introduced audiences to a world taken over by blind aliens with an incredible sense of hearing. That forced Krasinski and Blunt’s characters to communicate using sign language. Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe played their on-screen children. Bryan Woods and Scott Beck wrote the story, while Krasinski contributed to the screenplay. It was a surprise hit for Paramount, grossing over $350 million worldwide on just a $17 million budget.
A Quiet Place Part II was written and directed by Krasinski and featured most of the main cast. Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou joined the cast. The film premiered in March 2020, but its release was delayed over a year until May 2021. It was the first major theatrical-only release during the coronavirus pandemic and grossed $297.4 million worldwide.
As for Sarnoski, he earned instant critical acclaim for Pig. The movie stars Cage as a former chef who searches for his beloved pig. Cage has been in the awards conversation and was nominated for Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. Sarnozki received the National Board of Review Award for Best Directorial Debut. The movie is available to stream on Hulu. Meanwhile, the A Quiet Place movies are streaming on Paramount+.
