Jack O’Connell confirms he plays Cillian Murphy’s brother in A Quiet Place Part III

After all these years of creeping about with absolutely no sound—unless you fancied death by alien—A Quiet Place is coming round for one more go with Part III, which is set to finally wrap the Abbott family’s epic bout of survival misery. It’s been a drawn-out business, mind you. John Krasinski floated the idea of a proper trilogy back in 2021, and now, six years down the line, the whole lot are about to get their big finale.

The Family Ties (and Surprises)

One of the bigger twists here comes courtesy of Jack O’Connell, who joined the cast back in March last year—his CV now reading like a who’s-who of headline horror directors, after stints with Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Danny Boyle (28 Years Later), and Nia DaCosta with the next instalment of the same. His character’s introduction was originally secretive, but on-set photos emerged in May showing O’Connell suited up as a National Guard type—not your average background grunt, it seems.

The real kicker—and it’s not a minor detail—is that O’Connell’s character has a direct connection to Cillian Murphy’s Emmett, who joined the franchise in Part II as that haunted bloke grieving alone. According to O’Connell in a Collider interview, their characters are brothers, and that’s not just some ‘oh, by the way’ trivia—their relationship is now wedged firmly into the centre of the story, filling in all kinds of narrative backstory about Emmett’s past.

Here’s O’Connell chatting with Collider about the mood on set and the big family reveal:

"A Quiet Place was, that felt like family. It's about family, obviously. Got John Krasinski and Emily Blunt involved, and Cillian and I play brothers. There was a real familial feel to that one. It was cool, man. But horror's popping off. People are turning out for horror. So it's great. Yeah, it's amazing."

That confirmation pretty much settles fan theories about Emmett: the tragic loner from Part II is secretly not so alone, and this new brotherly pairing should force him to confront the trauma he’s buried since losing his wife and kids. There’s a shot doing the rounds from set—O’Connell and Murphy both legging it through what looks like militarised Manhattan. Whether that’s a flashback to day one of the invasion, or a tense present-day reunion, is still up in the air.

A Quiet Place Part III finally picks up the Abbott and Emmett arcs that Krasinski promised would conclude the trilogy, closing the book six years after the original plan was floated.

Who’s Back and Where’s It All Going?

There’s still a curtain of mystery over how much these new family threads will play out past Part III, or whether the Emmett/O’Connell connection will roll into a spinoff. It’s worth noting, though, that the franchise has started dipping its toes into other corners of the apocalypse: A Quiet Place: Day One turned its focus to fresh faces like Lupita Nyong’o’s Samira, who got perhaps the worst first day imaginable when the aliens landed. Alex Wolff, who played that hospice nurse from Day One, will also show up in Part III—probably a flashback job, keeping things threaded together, the same way Djimon Hounsou’s Henri did in his brief crossover appearances.

• Jack O’Connell (Emmett’s brother, National Guard)
• Cillian Murphy (Emmett)
• Emily Blunt (Evelyn Abbott)
• John Krasinski (Lee Abbott, likely flashbacks)
• Alex Wolff (nurse from Day One, flashback)
• Djimon Hounsou (Henri, linked to both sequel and prequel)

All eyes are still on whether this will be the finale or just another new beginning for the wider Quiet Place universe, but at last, the Abbott saga is heading for proper closure—unless, of course, there’s another twist lying in wait.