A Quiet Place: Day One Footage Reaction: Massive Prequel Makes First Two Movies Look Tiny [CinemaCon 2024]

Sound might be instant death in the world of "A Quiet Place," but that's not stopping Paramount Pictures from making some noise with the newest installment of this unexpectedly successful franchise. First kicked off by director and star John Krasinski in 2018, the high-concept genre movie instantly stood out as an original, well-crafted, and thoroughly engrossing experience at the theater. And since anything done well these days is apparently always worth doing twice, if not more, that effort led to a sequel just two years later (once again directed by Krasinski, though not starring him beyond a brief cameo appearance). Now, we're on the cusp of a prequel movie that aims to turn back the clock all the way to ground zero of the alien invasion with "A Quiet Place: Day One."

So how long has this film been in the works? Well, let's put it this way: this week's CinemaCon held in Las Vegas has been expected to debut new footage of the origin story, partly because that's exactly what happened at last year's event. "Day One" might have undergone quite a bit of creative shakeups behind the scenes, first swapping filmmakers from Jeff Nichols to "Pig" director Michael Sarnoski followed by its release date pushing back from September 2023, but all systems appear to be on track for its release this summer.

Before we get there, however, /Film's Ryan Scott is on the ground reporting on all the exclusives unveiled at CinemaCon. Those in attendance were treated to new footage of "A Quiet Place: Day One" and we've got the details for you right here. Check it out below!

The footage presentation started with an introduction from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins, who teased the biggest reason to be excited about the film: "What would happen if New York City, one of the loudest cities, went quiet?" Well, that's the main premise of "A Quiet Place: Day One," which Robbins says will focus on "characters navigating one of the busiest cities on the planet when it has to go quiet."

The footage begins with Lupita Nyong'o in a bodega getting yelled at for bringing her "service cat" inside. The argument with what must be a delightful human is interrupted by aliens literally falling out of the sky. Chaos reigns, people die left and right, there are explosions and aliens everywhere — a typical Tuesday in the Big Apple.

This is similar to the first trailer we saw, but then things get interesting. The footage shows what used to be Central Park, which now has a giant hole in the ground. Nyong'o's Sammy and Joseph Quinn's Eric team up to try and get out of the city before it's too late, but unfortunately, the government bombed every bridge in the city to try and contain the incident, a la "I Am Legend" or "The Dark Knight Rises."

"HUGE. Much bigger in scope than the first two," is how Ryan Scott described the footage, which is just right for the big city setting. There was also a shot of a map of the world with the sites of other alien landings, many of them all over. Another shot showed an old man brutally killed after making noise. 

The footage ended with a scene of streets flooded with people running from a second wave of aliens. Sammy and Eric try to take shelter in a building, only to discover a ton of aliens coming after them. 

"A Quiet Place: Day One" hits theaters on June 28, 2024.