Two decades after the 2002 original, a new sequel to the zombie horror smash 28 Days Later is apparently in the works after years of rumours.
After 28 Days Later and the 2007 follow-up 28 Weeks Later, the movie, titled 28 Years Later, is the third installment in the series. Danny Boyle, who directed and wrote the first movie, and writer Alex Garland, who served as executive producers on the second, will reunite on the new project.
The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive that claims the new movie will be the first in a new trilogy. Later this week, the movie will be shopped around to studios, streamers, and other potential buyers, according to anonymous insiders who spoke with the industry journal.Boyle is directing 28 Years Later, and Garland will write the scripts for all three projects.
The $8 million budget for 28 Days Later pales in comparison to the $75 million budget for each movie. In addition to becoming an unexpected box office hit and critical favourite, the 2002 movie served as a springboard for Cillian Murphy, who played Oppenheimer.
The role of Murphy, who was still relatively unknown at the time, was that of a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to find himself in a post-apocalyptic UK, where a virus has turned its victims into ruthless aggressors.
The movie is mostly responsible for reviving the zombie horror subgenre and popularising the idea of zombies as swift, dangerous attackers rather than lifeless corpses. The Guardian dubbed the movie a “muscular, virile piece of film-making.”
Since 2007, there have been rumours of a third installment in the franchise.
Months after the publication of 28 Weeks Later that year, Boyle declared, “There is an idea for the next one.” Over the previous ten years, Garland, Murphy, and co-star Imogen Poots have all indicated interest in a new installment; however, no actors are presently confirmed for the upcoming movie.
Murphy said to NME in 2022, “I always mention it whenever I do bump into Danny or Alex.” “It’s very impressive for a 20-year-old movie that still holds up.”