John Krasinski’s 2018 horror A Quiet Place pulled off a double whammy: the “if they hear you, they hunt you” horror earned rave reviews and was a massive hit at the box office.
Against a budget of $17 million, it globally earned around $391 million – no wonder there’s a sequel on the way, with A Quiet Place: Part II arriving in Cineworld on the 20th of March. As before, Krasinski directs and Emily Blunt stars in this sure-to-be-chilling continuation of the first film’s mythology.
The law of averages dictates that sequels aren’t usually as good as the original. That said, The Godfather II, Aliens, Toy Story 2, Paddington II and The Dark Knight are part of a select group that exceeded expectations by building on the appeal of the original movie.
So, will the follow-up to A Quiet Place reach the heady heights of its predecessor? While we await the answer, here’s a few other sequels we can expect in 2020…
1. Fast And Furious 9 (released 22nd May)
Numbers 7 and 8 in the Fast & Furious franchise each crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, so it’s no surprise Dominic Toretto and family are back for more. Although there’s no word yet on the storyline, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez are reprising their roles, as are the likes of Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris.
They can expect trouble from Charlize Theron, back as the villainous Cipher, and Helen Mirren also returns as Deckard Shaw’s joyously wicked mother, Magdalene. That may be a hint that Jason Statham is coming back as the aforementioned Shaw – or not. After all, he’s fashioned his own Hobbs & Shaw spin-off with Dwayne Johnson.
New faces include John Cena, whose character is described as a “badass”, and music megastar Cardi B in a small role, but there are zilch details. That said, the trailer is supposed to be dropping on the 31st of January, so watch this space.
2. Wonder Woman 1984 (released 5th June)
A trailer and, more recently, an image of DC superhero Wonder Woman have already whet our appetites for what looks to be a thrilling comic book adventure.
Set decades after the events of Patty Jenkins’ critical and commercial hit, the warrior princess (Gal Gadot) now has new enemies to contend with, specifically Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah and Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord. And Diana also has to deal with whatever the 1980s decide to throw at her – Rubik’s cubes, leg warmers, you name it.
We welcome back most of the team from the 2017 original: Jenkins in the director’s chair, Gadot and (somehow) Chris Pine as Steve Trevor – the two had plenty of on-screen chemistry first time round. Plus, The Dark Knight’s Hans Zimmer returns to the superhero genre to write the score.
3. Minions: The Rise Of Gru (released 10th July)
2015’s Minions was a spin-off from the blockbusting Despicable Me series, featuring those cute little yellow guys who had always threatened to outshine master criminal Gru. There’s no trailer so far, and no date announced for its arrival, but the title points towards some kind of origin story for Gru, and Steve Carell has signed up to be part of the action.
Director Pierre Coffin returns as well, and that’s about as much as we know. As it’s been five years since the Minions’ first spin-off film, it’ll be interesting to see if their squillions of fans are still captivated by their goofy charm.
4. Top Gun: Maverick (released 17th July)
We’ve been waiting for this since 1986, and thanks to two trailers, behind the scenes footage and images, we’re getting a good idea of what to expect.
Tom Cruise, as we know, has donned his Aviator shades again for this high-flying sequel and, in typical Cruise fashion, has undergone fighter pilot training. His Maverick hasn’t made it past the rank of Captain and is now training a new batch of pilots which, from the trailers, seem to include Whiplash's Miles Teller and Everybody Wants Some's Glen Powell.
But plenty of questions remain, not the least of which is the much-anticipated return of Val Kilmer’s legendary Iceman. He’s nowhere to be seen in the trailers, so does that mean his appearances are flashbacks? Whatever – Top Gun was, and is, always about the thrills and the sequel promises plenty of planes ripping up the skies and bone-shaking moments. 4DX, anybody?
5. Bill And Ted Face The Music (released 21st August)
Almost 30 years after that bogus journey, William “Bill” S Preston Esq (Alex Winter) and Theodore “Ted” Logan (Keanu Reeves) are partying again, trying to write a hit song and fulfil their destinies as rockers – but now they’re middle aged dads.
We’ve already seen images reuniting the characters with their time travelling phone booth, and with Death (William Sadler), but some recent shots show them with their daughters, played by Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving (recently seen in horror hit Ready or Not).
There’s no word on a trailer yet but, if the film’s synopsis is anything to go by, we can expect the two girls to help those two excellent dudes find the one song that will bring harmony back to the universe. And there will surely be the usual mix of historical figures and rock legends assisting along the way.
6. Venom 2 (released 2nd October)
The critical reaction to 2018’s Venom was lukewarm; however, it eventually grossed $856 million globally against a budget of $100 million. So a second outing for Tom Hardy and his symbiote isn’t that big a surprise.
Hardy’s back as journalist Eddie Brock, as are Michelle Williams and Woody Harrelson (playing the villainous Carnage), and there’s a change of director. Ruben Fleischer is gone and Andy Serkis has taken the helm.
In the absence of a trailer or any early images, one question about the movie refuses to go away. Will Tom Holland’s Spider-Man have a cameo? Rumours have indicated it’s more than possible, but distributor Sony isn’t saying one way or another.
Will A Quiet Place: Part II, and indeed the rest of these sequels, top their predecessors? Let us know @Cineworld.
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