Paramount Pushes A Quiet Place Part II & Top Gun: Maverick

Two major Paramount Pictures releases are getting another schedule change as the studio has announced that the highly-anticipated A Quiet Place Part II and Top Gun: Maverick are both being shifted from their 2020 release dates to 2021, according to The Wrap.

The John Krasinski-helmed horror sequel was initially pushed back from its March 20 release date to September 4 due to the global pandemic and now it has been set for an April 23, 2021 release while the Tom Cruise follow-up, originally set for July 12 and December 23 releases, will now hit theaters on July 2, 2021. In addition to the two tentpoles, Paramount has also delayed the release of the upcoming Jackass reboot from July 2 to September 3, as well as setting an April 8, 2022 release for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

“We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres,” Paramount’s President of Domestic Distribution Chris Aronson, and President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Viane, said in a statement. “We are committed to the theatrical experience and our exhibition partners, and want to stress that we are confident that, when the time comes, audiences everywhere will once again enjoy the singular joy of seeing Paramount films on the big screen.”

In A Quiet Place: Part II, following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.

Emily Blunt is returning for A Quiet Place Part II alongside cast members Noah Jupe (Suburbicon, Wonder) and Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck), with John Krasinski set to write, and direct again. It was recently revealed in the film’s Super Bowl spot that Krasinski will reprise his role as Lee in the flashback scenes. Golden Globe nominee Cillian Murphy (Breakfast on Pluto) and Djimon Hounsou will also star in the sequel.

A Quiet Place was from a spec script by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck which was rewritten by Krasinski. It opened in theaters in April of 2018 and grossed over $334 million worldwide on a $17 million dollar budget.

A Quiet Place: Part II is produced by Krasinski and Michael Bay (Transformers) along with Bay’s Platinum Dunes partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller (Ouija, The Purge, Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The sequel is executive produced by Allyson Seeger, Joann Perritano, Aaron Janus.

Top Gun: Maverick is set in a world of drone technology and fifth-generation fighters along with exploring the end of the era of dogfighting. Maverick (once again played by Tom Cruise) is now a flight instructor, who takes Bradley Bradshaw (played by Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late partner Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, under his wing. The film also stars Jon Hamm, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell and Ed Harris.

Joseph Kosinski, who previously directed Cruise in Oblivion, will helm the sequel, with Peter Craig, Justin Marks and Eric Warren Singer penning the script.

A follow-up to Tony Scott’s 1986 hit has been in the works for quite some time, with Tom Cruise interested in reprising his role as United States Naval Aviator Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer previously outlined that the film will deal with the rise of unmanned drones and pilots becoming a thing of the past.

The original Top Gun was directed by Tony Scott and also starred Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards and Tom Skerritt. The film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Take My Breath Away” performed by Berlin. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.