A Quiet Place: Day One’s Connection to Part II Explained by Director

A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel to A Quiet Place that depicts the initial invasion of the blind extraterrestrial creatures in New York City. One of the characters in the film is Henri (Djimon Hounsou), a man who encounters Sam (Lupita Nyong’o). This is not Henri’s first appearance in the franchise, as the character appeared in A Quiet Place Part II.

Why is Henri the only character from previous installments of A Quiet Place to show up in the prequel? Director Michael Sarnoski explained Henri’s inclusion in the prequel and his link to Sam.

“I thought it would be fun to bring in a little bit of a connection to A Quiet Place Part II,” Sarnoski told GamesRadar+. “But I also wanted to use Henri’s character to sort of stand in for what Sam’s story could have been, that was kind of the story of this family man who wanted to escape the city.”

In A Quiet Place Part II, Henri is the leader of a colony of survivors on an island. The chance to trace Henry’s origins and how he became the man in the second film intrigued Sarnoski.

“I thought it’d be fun to sort of use that as a bit of a foil, but then also give him a little extra backstory about the things he’s had to go through and deal with to become the person that he is in the second Quiet Place when he’s kind of a leader of this community,” Sarnoski added. “So, there were a few things to play with. It was also just amazing to work with Djimon [Hounsou] and I really wanted to get to work with him because he’s an incredible actor and so easy to work with.”

What to Expect in A Quiet Place: Day One?

“Experience the day the world went quiet,” reads the synopsis.

The prequel stars Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, and Eliane Umuhire.

A Quiet Place: Day One is written and directed by Sarnoski, based on a story treatment he conceived with producer John Krasinski. Additional producers include Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller.

A Quiet Place: Day One opens in theaters on June 28, 2024.