As reported in CinemaDailyUS in November of 2022, 28 Days Later may indeed be rising from the crypt. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the director/screenwriter who created the macabre zombie horror film back in 2002 are reportedly planning a new trilogy called 28 Years Later—not to be confused with the 28 Weeks Later sequel that they actually had little involvement with.
As if that weren’t confusing enough, the duo once hoped to make a sequel they called 28 Months Later. And if that weren’t confusing enough, Boyle and Garland are hinting their proposed 28 Years Later project is not going to be a sequel at all, but a whole new trilogy of films.
Promoted by William Morris Endeavor, 28 Years Later is now making the rounds in studioland, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news this week. According to press reports, the project is estimated to cost $75 million, far more than the relatively barebones $8 million pricetag on the original film, which grossed $84 million globally and has become a cult classic.
Eerily foreshadowing the recent pandemic, 28 Days Later narrated the exploits of Jim (played by Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier in London who awakens from a coma to learn that a contagious virus has wreaked havoc around the world. The cast of the dystopic film also included Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston, Brendan Gleeson, Naomie Harrie, Noah Huntley, and Stuart McQuarrie.
The 28 Weeks Later sequel debuted in 2007 with Boyle and Garland listed as executive producers. It was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and grossed $65 million against a budget of $15 million.
Danny Boyle’s most recent film was the 2019 romcom Yesterday. Alex Garland directed Men, Ex Machina, and Annihilation as well as the upcoming dysopic flick Civil War for A24.
In November of 2022, Boyle was quoted in CinemaDailyUS as saying: “I’d be very tempted [to direct a new film]. It feels like a very good time actually. It’s funny, I hadn’t thought about it until you just said it, and I remembered ‘Bang, this script!’ which is again set in England, very much about England. Anyway, we’ll see… who knows?”
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