Summary
- Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the director and writer of 28 Days Later, are confirmed to be returning for a new zombie thriller, 28 Years Later.
- The hope is to launch a new trilogy, with each movie having a budget of around $75 million.
- Boyle will direct the first installment while Garland will write all three films, and they will also serve as producers alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice.
While they didn’t wait a full 28 years, 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) and writer Alex Garland (who has gone on to direct Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men) have discussed the idea of a sequel to the franchise (which also includes 28 Weeks Later) for a while, but it is now confirmed. They will return to the post-apocalyptic zombie world they created in 2002 with not only a new film (28 Years Later), but also a full trilogy of films. As The Hollywood Reporter writes:
“Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the director and writer of the 2002 movie, are reuniting for 28 Years Later, a new zombie thriller that is expected to hit studios, streamers and other potential buyers later this week, according to multiple sources. WME, which reps Boyle and Garland, will take out the package and handle the sale.
“The package isn’t just a simple modern sequel installment; the movie already had a follow-up with 28 Weeks Later, released in 2007. The duo were only involved with as executive producers on that film. Now, the hope is to launch a new trilogy. Boyle is attached to direct the first installment. Garland would write all three. The budget for each movie would be in the $75 million range.
“The pair would also produce, as would original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of onetime studio Twentieth Century Fox that originally backed the British-made movie and its sequel.”
28 Days Later Revived the Zombie Genre
28 Days Later
- Release Date
- October 31, 2002
- Cast
- Alex Palmer , Bindu De Stoppani , Jukka Hiltunen , David Schneider , Cillian Murphy , Toby Sedgwick
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 113
With its handheld, digitally blurry, and hauntingly intimate cinematography, its epic post-rock score, and its incredible cast (including a perfect Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Huntley, and more), 28 Days Later was a sensation. It grossed more than 10 times its $8 million budget and arguably sparked a renaissance in the long-gestating zombie subgenre. Following the film’s celebrated release, audiences were greeted to a massive amount of zombie titles, from the good to the bad to the ugly:
- Dawn of the Dead (2004 Remake)
- Shaun of the Dead
- Dance of the Dead
- Land of the Dead
- Black Sheep
- Diary of the Dead
- Zombieland
- Cockneys vs. Zombies
- The Walking Dead
- Warm Bodies
- World War Z
- iZombie
- Fear the Walking Dead
- Train to Busan
While the zombie craze has mostly died down (despite The Walking Dead still releasing spin-offs), if anyone can bring it back or inject new life (pun intended) into it, it’s Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. Watch this space for more updates about 28 Years Later.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
