John Krasinski explains why 'A Quiet Place 2' will not feel like a traditional sequel

• John Krasinski gave some insight to Business Insider on his plans for the sequel to "A Quiet Place" he's currently writing.
• He said it was his wife, Emily Blunt, who described it best, calling it not really a sequel but "the second book in a series of books. It's a widening of a world."

John Krasinski is not shy to admit he had no interest in doing a sequel to "A Quiet Place."

The $17 million horror movie, in which a family fends off creatures that kill you if you make a sound, was a cash cow for Paramount in 2018, as the movie took in an incredible $340.6 million worldwide at the box office. Of course, the executives wanted Krasinski - who wrote, directed, and starred in the movie alongside his wife Emily Blunt - to make another.

But in rewriting the original script from screenwriters Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, Krasinski felt he had pulled off what he set out to do: tell a unique, family-focused genre movie. What else could he offer a potential franchise? Well, he admitted he did have, as he put it, one "tiny idea."

"I told them I wasn't going to participate in [a sequel] and to find a new writer and director," Krasinski told Business Insider. But when the movie's producer Drew Form asked for some guidance in the search, Krasinski revealed the sequel idea he had. "Drew was very smart and said, 'Think on it some more while we have these meetings with other people.' Then he threw the Jedi mind trick of asking me to just write the sequel, and he sucked me in."

Clearly, Form, and likely everyone at Paramount, knew that for a successful "A Quiet Place" franchise to work it would help if Krasinski stayed on board. And the actor-director eventually couldn't resist the chance to continue telling another story set in this world.

"Me going from not wanting to participate in a sequel to doing it is the same reason I hope people will want to see one," Krasinski said. "My hope is people want to revisit this world and revisit those stakes and those rules to have to abide by."

Krasinski said he's taking a similar approach to writing the sequel as he did to the original. Krasinski wasn't a huge fan of the horror genre before making "A Quiet Place," so he said he set out to figure out what made him scared and then used that to move forward with the movie. With the sequel, he said he hasn't reached out to directors he knows for guidance on how to make a follow-up. Instead, he's staying clear of other people's successes and failures and figuring out a way to do it on his own.

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"Most sequels are a hero and villain returning, but there's no story behind it," he said. "It's basically, 'Let's give the audience the character they want.' And I think the brilliant thing about 'A Quiet Place' is there's a world."

And it was Blunt who confirmed that to Krasinski, as well as pointing out that the movie he's crafting will be hard to call a sequel.

"Emily actually blew my mind by categorizing it the correct way after I pitched it to her. She said, 'This isn't a sequel at all - this is the second book in a series of books. It's a widening of a world," Krasinski explained.

Krasinski is currently writing the sequel, which Paramount has slated for a May 2020 release.