How A Quiet Place: Day One's Ending Links To The Last Movie, And What The Director Told Us About The Cat

Major spoilers for A Quiet Place: Day One lie ahead, so read ahead at your own discretion.

The newly released A Quiet Place: Day One takes the John Krasinski-birthed franchise into uncharted and fascinating territory. More specifically, Michael Sarnoski’s spinoff moves the action from a secluded location in Upstate New York to the bustling NYC and also features new protagonists. Despite that, the 2024 movie release does have ties to what’s come before, as its ending links to a narrative thread established in 2021’s Part II. CinemaBlend got to discuss a bit of that with Sarnoski himself, who also shared some details on the cat at the center of his horror movie.

What Happens At The End Of Day One And How Does It Connect To A Quiet Place: Part II?

Fans may remember that in the franchise’s second installment, Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds) and Cillian Murphy (Emmett) reached an island populated by survivors of the alien invasion. Said group was led by an unnamed man played by Djimon Hounsou, who returned in the latest movie. In Part II, Hounsou’s character mentioned that the U.S. National Guard vacated people to islands after learning that the aliens (who we have questions about) can’t swim. Though only two of the dozen vessels made it out to sea before being attacked.

Day One shows those two ships making their way to new land, and two of the newly introduced characters in the prequel are ultimately among the passengers. Eric (Joseph Quinn) manages to make it at the last minute alongside the lovable cat, Frodo. That’s because the feline’s owner, terminally ill woman Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) lures the creatures away from them to give the pair time. That poses the question of whether or not the two are on the island by the events of Part II.

Michael Sarnoski Shared Some Thoughts On Frodo’s Fate

Our own ReelBlend podcast was fortunate enough to speak with writer/director Michael Sarnoski for a yet-to-be released bonus episode. Our hosts directly asked the filmmaker if fans might see the cat if they rewatch A Quiet Place: Part II. He spoke to that point and weighed in on the notion of Eric being present somewhere during the scenes set on the island:

So, on the whole, the Pig director can’t say with complete certainty that if fans watch the second movie now, they’ll see Frodo – who was played by two cats in Day One – chilling in the backdrop. After all, it doesn’t seem that the filmmakers had thought that far ahead while making the 2021 flick. However, if people were to see a furry friend that resembles Frodo, then they could peg said pet as the character. That would mostly be head canon, of course, but that’s certainly better than nothing, I’d say.

All the while, Day One does nod at the first two films in some subtle ways. For instance, there’s a scene in which Sam hides from the creatures under a fountain and shares a sweet scene with two kids. That moment parallels the waterfall moment between Lee (John Krasinski) and Marcus (Noah Jupe) Abbott from the first movie. Michael Sarnoski spoke to CinemaBlend about those easter eggs during a separate interview, explaining that he had to find a balance when it came to inserting such references. 

Though we can’t officially say that Part II features connective tissue to the prequel in regard to a Frodo cameo, fans of the scene-stealing feline should find comfort in the fact that he survived the movie. That could mean that he – and possibly Eric – could theoretically return in the upcoming A Quiet Place Part III (if they weren’t killed amid the island attack in Part II). It would certainly be great to see the furry hero again, and we should keep our fingers crossed for such a cameo.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for ReelBlend’s full interview with Michael Sarnoski, which will be released soon, and read up on upcoming horror movies. You can also see A Quiet Place: Day One in theaters now, and know that the first two films in the franchise are streamable with a Paramount+ subscription.