A Quiet Place: Day One

Henri, played by Djimon Hounsou, helps Eric and Frodo get to safety on the ferry. Since Henri was seen living on a creature-free island in A Quiet Place Part II (2020), it is likely that Eric and Frodo also live peacefully on the island, at least until the end of the film.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

The vast majority of the scenes set in New York were shot in London. The crew built a rough replica of the area around NYC's Chinatown on a backlot in the London area to shoot most of the early scenes, and most of the scenes set in the NYC Subway were filmed in various now-closed London Underground stations and tunnels. One of the notable on-location scenes was shot outside one of the film's few named locations: Patsy's Pizzeria in Harlem. The rest is mostly second unit and VFX work.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Joseph Quinn did not show Lupita Nyong'o the card trick he had prepared until the day they filmed the scene, in order to capture her genuine reaction.

BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

Frodo the cat was played by two cats named Nico and Schnitzel.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Lupita Nyong'o was afraid of cats and even asked director Michael Sarnoski to replace the animal she had to interact with. When he refused, she underwent exposure therapy. She explained: "I was very afraid of cats. I couldn't be in the same room as a cat. I was suspicious of them. I was pretty sure they wanted to possess me. But I really wanted to play Sam, and she has a cat. So I had to face my fear. They hired someone to bring me a few cats in Los Angeles, and over several days I observed the cats and asked a lot of questions, and when I felt brave enough I touched one, then it was two, and before you knew it, so was I. I petted one until I could hold a cat without freaking out." She overcame her fear and later adopted her own cat.

DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

Patsy's Pizzeria in Harlem is widely regarded as the birthplace of New York-style pizza.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Paramount initially wanted the cat Frodo to be a CGI creation, but Michael Sarnoski insisted on using a real animal.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Lupita Nyong'o said the most fun and exciting part of the film was figuring out how to convey messages without words, to the point that even the smallest movement of body language could change the context of an entire scene, so every scene required a great deal of internalization.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The terminally ill character Sam came about because Michael Sarnoski was interested in a protagonist with ambivalent feelings about death.

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After the initial attack, a person listening to the radio in the puppet theater marks locations on a globe. A newspaper clipping from the first film and a TV news broadcast released from the second film also indicate that this is a worldwide problem.

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The events of this film take place a year and a half before those of the previous installment, A Quiet Place Part II (2020).

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John Krasinski specifically chose Michael Sarnoski to direct this prequel because he was so moved by the heart Sarnoski brought to his film Pig (2021).

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Michael Sarnoski stated that Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men (2006) was an inspiration for the film's look and feel.

DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

A block of Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, London, stood in for New York in one scene. Numerous heavily damaged cars with New York, Connecticut and Florida license plates, as well as piles of concrete and metal debris, were scattered along the block.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

While browsing books in front of a bookstore, Sam is holding a copy of Dawn by Octavia Butler. The author is one of the leading Black women science fiction writers, and the novel deals with an alien invasion.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Director Michael Sarnoski states that the Death Angels use the corpses of the people they kill to fertilize a fungus-like organism that is their actual food source. This behavior closely resembles that of leafcutter ants; instead of eating the leaf fragments they cut, they use them as fertilizer for a specific fungus species that feeds the colony in exchange for food and a safe place to grow.

DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

Each film in the series is set in a different population setting. The first film takes place on a rural farm. The second takes place in a factory and a suburban neighborhood. This film takes place in an urban city.

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The giant Death Angel that Eric encounters is known by fans as "Queen" or "Big One."

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It was shot over a period of two months.

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The backlot at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden was used to recreate four two-story NYC blocks, including Mott Street in Chinatown and parts of Harlem, the Lower East Side and the Upper East Side. London Charing Cross was used to shoot the subway scene.

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Jeff Nichols was initially set to direct, but he left the project because of another Paramount science fiction project.

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Development on A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) began in November 2020, with Jeff Nichols writing and directing. Despite the script being completed, Nichols left the film in October 2021. In January 2022, it was announced that Michael Sarnoski would replace Nichols as writer and director; John Krasinski approached him because of his first feature film, Pig (2021).

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Alex Wolff, who plays Reuben in this film, also appeared in Pig (2021), which was likewise directed by Michael Sarnoski.

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Denis O'Hare was cast in an unknown role, but was later cut from the final edit.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

The film's cast includes one Oscar winner, Lupita Nyong'o, and one Oscar nominee, Djimon Hounsou.

CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over 261 million dollars worldwide.

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In later interviews, Michael Sarnoski confirmed that the character Eric is gay.

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In response to a fan's question on Instagram, Michael Sarnoski explained that the film was to be shot on 35mm film, but the studio did not agree with the idea and switched to digital along with the amount of VFX-heavy sequences. However, it appears there are still some scenes shot on film stock.

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Deadline estimated that Paramount made 84 million dollars from this film.

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The film made the shortlist for the Best Visual Effects Oscar but was not nominated.

CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED