A Quiet Place Part II delayed indefinitely as Paramount breaks coronavirus silence

Paramount Pictures has officially delayed the theatrical opening of A Quiet Place Part II over coronavirus concerns, the project's writer/director John Krasinski revealed on Instagram today. The much-anticipated horror sequel was scheduled to hit theaters next Friday, March 20. No replacement date has been chosen yet.

"To all our A Quiet Place fans," began the actor/filmmaker. "One of the things I'm most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together. Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what's going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the time to do that. As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie...I'm gonna wait to release the film 'til we CAN all see it together! So here's to our group movie date. See you soon!"

"After much consideration, and in light of the ongoing and developing situation concerning coronavirus and restrictions on global travel and public gatherings, Paramount Pictures will be moving the worldwide release of A Quiet Place Part II," the studio said in an official statement obtained by SYFY WIRE. "We believe in and support the theatrical experience, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences this year once we have a better understanding of the impact of this pandemic on the global theatrical marketplace."

Picking up mere moments after the events of the first movie, Part II follows Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) as she and her two grown children—Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe)—attempt to find other survivors in a world ravaged by sound-sensitive monsters. 

Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) and Djimon Hounsou (Captain Marvel) join the franchise as never-before-seen characters that will build out the universe and explain how other people coped with the arrival of these strange creatures. Despite dying in the last one, Krasinski's Abbott patriarch, Lee, returns for a flashback sequence in which the monsters first attack humanity.

The first A Quiet Place opened in the spring of 2018 to near critical acclaim and over $300 million at the global box office against a rather small budget of $17 - $21 million. Krasinski, who co-wrote the initial movie's screenplay with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, went solo for the follow-up.

Early reactions to the sequel are extremely positive, which makes it even harder to swallow the fact that the rest of us won't be able to enjoy it anytime soon. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the project's international debut, slated to begin next Wednesday (March 18) was also affected.

Like MGM's No Time to Die and Sony's Peter Rabbit 2, A Quiet Place Part II is the latest studio project to be postponed over the growing health scare. With yet another major released pushed off due to the virus, we should probably brace ourselves for similar developments.