A Quiet Place 3 loses director Jeff Nichols. A Quiet Place debuted in 2018, directed by and co-starring John Krasinski, along with his wife, actress Emily Blunt. The story centers on an alien invasion with the invading creatures having ultra-sensitive hearing that allows them to easily spot their prey with the slightest sound. Krasinski and Blunt's characters fend off the creatures, while trying to protect their children in the first film, while the sequel, 2021's A Quiet Place: Part 2, had the family seeking safety in a new location, while attempting to avoid the creatures as well as human threats along the way. Krasinski also directed the sequel, but opted not to direct the third entry.
A Quiet Place: Part 2 was a tremendous success earlier this year, after being delayed from 202o due to the pandemic. The theatrical-only release led the film to a global take of $297 million, based off of a $61 million budget, an impressive run, especially for a pandemic release. Instead of directing the third film, Krasinski handed over the reigns to Mud and Midnight Special director Jeff Nichols, whom he said was his first choice in handing over the franchise. Nichols took Krasinski's idea for the film and had already turned in a script that was set to begin shooting for a March 31, 2023 release.
Deadline is now reporting that Jeff Nichols is exiting A Quiet Place: Part 3 and will instead focus on another untitled Sci-Fi project at Paramount instead. Options to replace Nichols are already being submitted to take over the sequel, which is being fast-tracked due to the massive success of the sequel earlier this year. The concept for the film is a spinoff rather than a sequel, based on an idea from Krasinksi. Neither Krasinski or Blunt are expected to return for the third entry in the series, which is expected to be something of a universe set-up for future films in A Quiet Place franchise.
Krasinski has yet to announce a new directing project, but is keeping himself busy with the Amazon series, Jack Ryan, which just wrapped season 3 and was recently renewed for a fourth season. The actor is also supplying his voice to the animated DC's League of Superpets movie for WB, while his spouse, Blunt, is busy filming the BBC/Amazon series, The English. She is also set to appear in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, as well as a sequel to the smash hit Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson.
Nichols is a loss for the spinoff of A Quiet Place 3, especially after Krasinski trumpeted his preference for the director to take over. However, it's better that Nichols departs before the project gets any further along, which will allow the incoming director to better shape the film into something more focused, rather than having a directed-by-committee project on their hands. It seems like there's no bad blood between Nichols and Paramount, as he's continuing with his other sci-fi project at the studio, and finding a new director for such a hot property shouldn't be much trouble.
Source: Deadline