Summary

  • The A Quiet Place timeline spans multiple movies, revealing the fast changes after monsters arrived who hunt by sound.
  • The first movie shows the Abbot family's survival struggles, with the sequel fleshing out the timeline and world in more detail.
  • Future installments will expand the timeline, showing the impact from both the mid-to-long-term and the first days post-invasion.

The A Quiet Place timeline spans multiple movies, and stands out among sci-fi horror for how fast the unprepared world changed with the arrival of the deadly monsters who hunt by sound. The first movie in the timeline, A Quiet Place, takes place a year into the horrific phenomenon. Thanks to the sequel A Quiet Place II, the A Quiet Place timeline has been further fleshed out, providing more insight as to what happened. As of now, the franchise is expanding past the first two films with the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One and a sequel with the delayed A Quiet Place 3.

The first movie in the Quiet Place series chronicles the Abbot family's story of survival with parents Lee and Evelyn (John Krasinski and Emily Blunt), as well as their children over a few short days. A Quiet Place Part II provides a context to the story the first movie lays out. The sequel covers a few days after the first movie but significantly fleshes out the Quiet Place timeline and world. Upcoming installments will expand the timeline in both directions, showing the mid-to-long-term impact of the arrival, as well as detailing the first days after the alien invasion.

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A Quiet Place Part II's Opening Sequence

The Earliest Point In The Quiet Place Timeline Seen On Screen (So Far)

Lee running with his daughter in Quiet Place 2.

The A Quiet Place timeline takes viewers back to the first moment of the alien invasion in Part II with a gripping opening sequence. This includes John Krasinski's Lee temporarily returning to the series. The movie shows the Abbotts living in a small, tight-knit community prior to the invasion. It was the kind of town that gathered for a little league baseball game, as they did for one of Marcus' in this opening scene. The crowd notices a flaming object falling from the sky, obviously foreshadowing the imminent arrival of the unwelcome guests.

As people disperse, the monsters introduced in A Quiet Place descend on the townspeople. The family splits up as Evelyn and Lee have separate cars at the game. It's important to note that Regan opts to go with her father. The last time audiences saw the father and daughter, their relationship was tense. But A Quiet Place Part II's opening sequence proves they were incredibly close. Seeing them on good terms makes Lee's sacrifice, and what that loss means to the rest of the family, all the more devastating.

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Beau Abbott's Death

The Most Tragic Moment In A Quiet Place's Timeline Also Places The Year

The family before Beau's death in A Quiet Place.

The death of the Abbotts' youngest child, Beau, takes place early in the A Quiet Place timeline, about a few months before the first movie's events. Marcus is sick, so the family carefully makes its way into town, hoping to scavenge medicine from the picked-over convenience store. Beau picks up a toy rocket ship, but Lee immediately reprimands him, as the toy will make too much noise. Regan, trying to be a good big sister, grabs the toy for Beau when Lee isn't looking.

The Abbotts create a memorial site to honor Beau, marking 2020 as the year of his death.

As Beau is too young to understand the ramifications of his actions, he turns on the toy on their walk home. One of the alien monsters grabs and kills Beau before Lee can get to him. The Abbotts create a memorial site to honor Beau, marking 2020 as the year of his death. It's the only indicator of when the movie series takes place. The impact of Beau's death so early within the A Quiet Place timeline is felt throughout the rest of the series, mainly through Regan's now-strained relationship with her father Lee.

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A Quiet Place

The First Movie In The Quiet Place Timeline Takes Place In 2021

The rest of the A Quiet Place timeline jumps forward slightly, placing the Abbotts in 2021, still reeling from Beau's death. The movie picks up on an average day in the life of the Abbotts. Evelyn is heavily pregnant and taking care of their two older children. Lee desperately tries to make contact with any survivors and hopes to make improvements to Regan's cochlear implant. Despite his work, Lee and Regan's relationship is strained.

As Regan gives Beau the toy that eventually led to his death, she blames herself for the incident.

As Regan gives Beau the toy that eventually led to his death, she blames herself for the incident. She feels that Lee also blames her. When Lee takes Marcus fishing, and Regan sneaks off to visit Beau's memorial, Evelyn goes into labor. She accidentally makes a noise, attracting the Quiet Place monsters to the house when she's at her most vulnerable.

While the Abbott family is in a panic to reunite and save Evelyn, the kids are cornered by monsters. Lee yells out, sacrificing himself, so the kids can escape to their mother with their lives. Seconds before his death, Lee makes sure to sign to Regan that he has always loved her. Once the kids find their way back to their mom, they realize that the feedback from Regan's implants distresses the monsters and weakens them for just enough time for Evelyn to shoot them.

This portion of the timeline set the stage for an important chapter in the Abbotts' lives.

A Quiet Place ends with the surviving Abbotts luring the monsters to their basement, knowing there is finally a way to kill them. This portion of the timeline set the stage for an important chapter in the Abbotts' lives. For one, they'd have to learn how to get on without their patriarch, Lee. Second, the fact they discovered the Quiet Place monsters' weakness offers the first glimmer of hope since the invasion.

When A Quiet Place was released, it was initially marketed as a standalone feature. The sequel's announcement only came after the horror movie became a massive success. But with the story officially being expanded, the Abbotts' discovery could eventually be the key to ending the crisis that the invasion started and finally getting back to some semblance of a normal life.

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A Quiet Place Part II

There's No Time Jump Between The First Two Movies In The Quiet Place Timeline

Regan (Millicent Simmonds) braves the unknown in "A Quiet Place Part II."

After its opening sequence, A Quiet Place Part II launches into the current day. It picks up mere seconds after the first movie ends. In A Quiet Place, Lee lit a signal fire every night to survivors in neighboring areas. After losing him, Evelyn, Marcus, and Regan set off to find anyone on the other side of one of those flames. They happen to run into former acquaintance Emmett, who begrudgingly takes the family in temporarily. The rest of the movie's events take place over a few days at the most.

Regan breaks off on her own to find help, and Emmett tracks her down and eventually accompanies her. Evelyn and an injured Marcus stay behind. The movie ends with Regan and Emmett reaching a working radio station, meaning that they can blast the feedback from her implants and weaken the monsters. How many of them the devastating soundtrack will reach remains to be seen, but after years of being nearly defenseless against the aliens, humanity can finally begin to fight back.

Lee's last words to Regan gave her the courage to risk her life and try to help others.

Lee's last words to Regan gave her the courage to risk her life and try to help others. She was sullen in the first movie, due to her anger, guilt, and sadness over the loss of Beau. But after seeing Lee's sacrificial death in A Quiet Place to save her and Marcus, she knew he'd want her to do the same thing. When Regan found an opportunity to save other people, she knew she had to take it. Exhibiting tremendous character growth, Regan faces a monster head-on to save Emmett's life in A Quiet Place Part II's ending.

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The Future Of The A Quiet Place Franchise

The A Quiet Place Timeline Will Be Significantly Expanded

John Krasinski Emily blunt A quiet place 3

After the tremendous critical and commercial success stories of both A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place 2, one certain thing is that more is coming. What's up in the air is how the sequel will look. While John Krasinski announced the third installment in the Abbott family story, the next A Quiet Place movie will be a spinoff existing within the established universe. It would appear that Paramount thinks they might be able to turn the A Quiet Place franchise into their equivalent of Warner Bros.' The Conjuring.

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Everything We Know About A Quiet Place III

The Abbot Family's Story Will Become A Trilogy

Simmonds looking up in A Quiet Place

The story of A Quiet Place II sets up a full franchise, which prompted the conception of the upcoming spinoff and A Quiet Place III. The third installment was greenlit with a 2025 release. Krasinski will be back at the helm of the movie. However, while the movie has been going well in its production, it has been delayed and likely won't make the 2025 release date. Given A Quiet Place II's ending, there will probably be some time spent on the boat and the island with the rest of the newfound survivors.

A Quiet Place III should see Evelyn return as the star of the franchise.

A Quiet Place III's plot hasn't been announced, but Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Emmett (Cillian Murphy) will likely return, as they need to reconnect with Marcus, Evelyn, and the baby. A Quiet Place III should see Evelyn return as the star of the franchise. In addition, there will likely be a new cast of survivors on the island, but no one knows if any of them got to seek true sanctuary in A Quiet Place II. Likely, A Quiet Place III will pick up where the last movie left off, adding yet more to the A Quiet Place timeline.

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The Quiet Place Spin-Off Will Show Day One Of The Invasion

The A Quiet Place Prequel Will Fill In Blanks In The Timeline

Pig director Michael Sarnoski takes the reigns for the spinoff, titled A Quiet Place: Day One. As the title suggests, the movie depicts the first day of the invasion as the human characters are faced with monsters who can hunt and kill based on sound. The movie features mostly a different group of survivors with a cast that includes Lupita Nyong'o, Alex Wolff, and Joseph Quinn. However, as the first trailer shows, Djimon Hounsou returns from A Quiet Place II to connect the two movies.

Given that the spinoff movie returns to when the invasion began, fans should get a little more insight into the origins of A Quiet Place's monsters. It will also be interesting to see how the franchise manages without the Abbott family at the center of it all, as their relationship elevated the previous movies. However, it does seem like a wise decision to take the franchise in a new direction even if the prequel won't further the A Quiet Place timeline much. A Quiet Place: Day One hits theaters on June 28, 2024.

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place takes place in a world ravaged by predatory alien beings with ultra-sensitive hearing. With humanity on the brink of extinction, the Abbott family has managed to carve out a delicate survival by living in total silence, but with a baby on the way, their tentative peace seems more fragile than ever. A Quiet Place stars John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe and is directed by Krasinski.

Director
John Krasinski
Release Date
April 3, 2018
Studio(s)
Paramount Pictures
Distributor(s)
Paramount Pictures
Writers
Bryan Woods , Scott Beck , John Krasinski
Cast
Emily Blunt , John Krasinski , Millie Simmonds , Noah Jupe , Cade Woodward , Leon Russom