Like its predecessors, A Quiet Place: Day One is set in a world where aliens with super-hearing invade Earth and kill anything that makes a noise. While it's easy to assume that their murderous nature is somehow linked to sound sensitivity, the actual reason is far more complex.

Referring to a scene in which Eric (Joseph Quinn) stumbles upon a small group of aliens eating something unidentifiable, director Michael Sarnoski told The Direct that the aliens kill to maintain their ecosystem. "All I wanted audiences to take away from that [scene] was that the aliens have some sort of ecosystem on their own," he said. "I didn't really want to get into too much of the nitty-gritty of what it is or how it functions. But I just wanted people to know that these aren't just these kinds of lone, vicious creatures. They have some sort of structure and some sort of way that they operate. And I think one of the big questions for me was, why are they killing people? And what are they doing with these people?"

Sarnoski went on to reveal that the aliens are not recreational killers. "And one thing that scene kind of alludes to - it's really not meant to be seen or fully understood - but the implication is that they're using people to grow their food," the filmmaker continued. "Which I liked that idea that at the end of the day, these creatures were farmers. They're not just killing for the sake of killing. And, but it's kind of… I don't expect the audience to sort of fully understand that. It's just meant to be a little bit of a background thing."

A Sequel Could Be In The Works

Based on a story he created with John Krasinski, A Quiet Place: Day One serves as a spin-off and prequel to A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II. The film stars Lupita Nyong'o as a terminally ill woman during the early stages of an alien invasion in New York City. Sarnoski previously addressed the possibility of a sequel, saying, "At this point, I'm just recovering from making this one. So I'm sure Paramount will come up with something very fun next."

A Quiet Place: Day One has been performing well at the box office, earning $53 million domestically and $45.5 million internationally, bringing the worldwide total to $98.5 million. The first two films, directed by John Krasinski, also saw huge opening weekend returns, with A Quiet Place earning $50 million and A Quiet Place Part II bringing in $48 million.

A Quiet Place: Day One is playing in theaters.