For a film in the “Quiet Place” universe, the decibel level was near deafening at the film’s CinemaCon presentation on Thursday in Las Vegas.
John Krasinski’s horror franchise is now in its third outing, the latest being a prequel of sorts starring Lupita Nyong’o and titled “A Quiet Place: Day One.” The film takes viewers back to the inciting incident, when faceless alien beasts invaded the planet and revealed an extreme sensitivity to sound — using it to track and find terrified humans and, well, kill them.
Nyong’o and costar Joseph Quinn (breakout star of the last season of “Stranger Things”) teed up an extended version of a “Day One” trailer released earlier this year. Given that sound is how the creatures find the unassuming citizens of earth, it plays a major role in the craft of the film. An unintended sneeze is as deadly as a sonic boom in this world, and Oscar winner Nyong’o certainly pays the price for it.
“The scale of this story is bigger and more terrifying than ever before,” Nyong’o told the crowd of worldwide movie theater owners.
Djimon Hounsou and Alex Wolff round out the cast. Nyong’o plays a New Yorker running her daily errands when suddenly the sky is streaked with burning objects coming in for a landing. It’s quickly evident that an invasion has taken place, and much of humanity is not prepared to take on these extraterrestrial predators.
The film is set for a June 28 wide release. Krasinksi offered a double header to the CinemaCon crowd on Thursday, also showing the first footage from his new family adventure “If.” Starring Ryan Reynolds, the film imagines a world where one little girl can see everyone else’s imaginary friends — and sets off to reunite the figments with their owners.
