10 Best Movie Characters Of 2021 (So Far)

With the demise of Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) at the end of the original A Quiet Place, writer-director Krasinski sought to fill the void by drafting in a replacement male lead, and struck gold with the addition of Emmett (Cillian Murphy).

Emmett is a friend of Lee's who lost his own family in the alien invasion and now ekes out a miserable, solitary existence in hiding, his faith in humanity effectively obliterated as a result.

But when he crosses paths with the Abbotts, he's thrust into a far more active role, reluctantly caring for the family and ultimately helping Regan (Millicent Simmonds) reach the radio station where she can signal-boost her hearing aid's frequency to combat the creatures.

Considering the film's swift 97-minute runtime and lightning-fast pacing, that it manages to introduce a compelling new character with minimal exposition is a major achievement.

Having an actor of Murphy's caliber aboard sure doesn't hurt either, of course, and he does an excellent job keeping Emmett's disposition vague enough that a third-act heel turn wouldn't have been at all surprising.

But with Emmett surviving to the end - which was itself pretty surprising - it'll be great to see him returning for the final desperate dash to wipe the aliens out in the inevitable threequel.