In 2018, an ingenious horror-thriller caught virtually everyone by surprise. You could say that it didn't make a sound. A QUIET PLACE instantly became a zeitgeist-capturing smash and a respected critical darling. So it was no surprise to learn that a follow-up had moved swiftly into production. It is now one of our most anticipated horror films of recent years.

We've compiled everything you need to know about A QUIET PLACE PART II — just remember to tread carefully, especially if you fear spoilers as much as you fear murderous, noise-seeking creatures. Be aware that spoilers follow for the original A QUIET PLACE.

A QUIET PLACE II opens on May 28, 2021. The long wait is almost over!

The first A QUIET PLACE PART II trailer arrived on January 1, 2020. That debut trailer looked back to the day that sound-sensitive monsters began their rampage, then picked up right at the end of the original movie, with the remaining characters setting out on a journey of survival.

But the best trailer for A QUIET PLACE PART II is the latest one, which you can see just above. It features the same general structure as that first trailer but adds bit of extra focus on one specific monster encounter.

When John Krasinski signed on to direct and star in the original A QUIET PLACE, he extensively rewrote the existing screenplay. (That script was credited to Bryan Woods and Scott Beck.) The actor turned filmmaker's direction also guided the movie to great success. So, when Paramount began to mount the sequel, the studio naturally secured Krasinski to write and direct the follow-up.

And (spoiler alert) while Krasinski's character — the engineer and terrific father Lee Abbott — met his untimely end in the first film, we fully expected him to appear in the sequel via flashback or a dream sequence. As the trailers have shown, that flashback structure is exactly how his character returns even as Krasinski is once again behind the camera.

We now know a bit about the plot of A QUIET PLACE PART II. The film follows Emily Blunt (who is Krasinski's real-life wife) as Evelyn Abbott, who with the character's children, played by Noah Jupe and Milicent Simmonds, seeks a new safe haven following the events of the original movie. They run across a warehouse hideout set up by a character played by Cillian Murphy, from BATMAN BEGINS. Djimon Hounsou, from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and CAPTAIN MARVEL, is also in the mix somehow. And, of course, the monsters are still roaming around outside.

The production of the QUIET PLACE sequel took place from June to September 2019 in upstate New York. Photos and reports from that shoot suggest that <a href="https://www.cinemark.com/movies/a-quiet-place-part-ii">A QUIET PLACE PART II</a> is a bigger movie. While the first film took place mostly on one farm and highlighted the plight of a family in a monster-haunted post-apocalyptic landscape, this sequel is likely to broaden the scope of the story.

At one point, for example, the production hired 300 background actors. (Or extras, if you will.). That suggests scenes that are far bigger in scale than anything in the first movie. That same report also says the production invested $10 million in the New York State portion of the shoot. That's half the budget of the first film right there. Based on the first trailer, there's a good chance that some of that effort went into creating images of the town-wide chaos that erupted after the monsters first arrived, but we could very well be in for a lot more than that. So the question is: are you ready for a much larger QUIET PLACE?

A QUIET PLACE PART II opens on May 28!

All images courtesy of Paramount Pictures.