Danny Boyle and Alex Garland had a pretty good run of movies in the 2000s, beginning when the director adapted Garland’s book, The Beach, into a cult favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie. That followed with Boyle directing Garland’s screenplays for 28 Days Later, followed by 2007’s underrated sci-fi film, Sunshine. A sequel to 28 Days Later, titled 28 Weeks Later, arrived that same year but Boyle had moved on, and the partnership never got back together. They had beef for a while but eventually made up.
There has been years of talk about a sequel to 28 Weeks Later that would reunite Boyle and Garland, and now it’s finally happening. THR reports that a new sequel, titled 28 Years Later, is being pitched as a potential trilogy to studios and streamers. Boyle will direct the first movie, with Garland aboard to write all three. Sounds like we could see Boyle move to a producer role for any follow-up films, as he did with 28 Weeks Later. The budget for each film is expected to be around $75M.
Opening in 2002, 28 Days Later was a breakout film for Cillian Murphy, but also featured Naomie Harris, and Brendan Gleeson. It’s set in London after the fallout of a viral infection, the “rage virus”, that transforms people into fast-moving predators. The film was credited with resurrecting the zombie genre, even though it isn’t technically a zombie movie.
Boyle’s most recent film was pre-pandemic, 2019’s Beatles-inspired comedy, Yesterday. Garland has branched out into his own directing career with Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men, and this year’s thriller, Civil War. He has said
Expect a major studio to scoop 28 Years Later up quickly. Fans have been clamoring to see this franchise reborn, myself included, and if they can somehow get Cillian Murphy back…
