28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are hoping to make a third installment of the zombie series, though Boyle will only return if Garland does not direct the film himself.
“I resisted it for a long time because there were things about 28 Weeks that bugged me,” Garland told Inverse. “I just thought, ‘F*ck that. I’d rather try to write a different story in a different world.'” The Academy Award-nominated writer added, “A few years ago an idea materialized in my head for what would be really 28 Years Later. Danny always liked the idea.” Boyle confirmed that he and Garland have discussed the project. “We’re talking about it quite seriously, quite diligently,” he said. “If [Garland] doesn’t want to direct it himself I’ll be well up for it, if we can execute a similarly good idea.”
Starring Cillian Murphy, 28 Days Later hit theaters in 2002. The film was a hit with critics and audiences, holding an 87% critic score and an 85% audience score. The low-budget film was also a box office triumph, earning $84.6 million against an $8 million budget. A sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was released in 2007, starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, and Jeremy Renner and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Though it performed relatively well with critics and at the box office, the sequel was not as well-received or financially successful as its predecessor.
The Original Threequel to 28 Days Later
Boyle and Garland have been discussing the idea of doing a third film in their post-apocalyptic franchise since at least 2015, when it was under the title 28 Months Later. “I’d be very tempted [to direct it],” Boyle later said in November 2022. “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?”
Cillian Murphy, star of 28 Days, has also shown interest in returning for a third film after his absence from the 2007 sequel. “I never say never,” he said in May 2021. “I loved making that movie. It was a long time ago. It was like almost 20 years ago, you know. But sure, sure.”
Boyle has since shepherded several critically and financially successful features, including Slumdog Millionaire (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director), 127 Hours, Steve Jobs, and T2 Trainspotting. Garland has enjoyed similar success and has since stepped behind the camera for films like Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men. His original screenplay for Ex Machina earned him an Oscar nod in 2015. Garland is currently occupied with writing and directing duties on his next feature, Civil War, while Boyle is hard at work on stage adaptations of The Matrix and Frankenstein.
As for Murphy, fans can see him in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer when the film hits theaters on July 21.
Source: Inverse