Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are collaborating on a follow-up to their zombie genre game-changer “28 Days Later,” developing a follow-up titled “28 Years Later” that would hope to launch a new trilogy of films. William Morris Endeavor, which represents both creators, looks to shop the project to studios and streamers later this year.
Released in 2002 (still only 22 years ago), the original “28 Days Later” starred Cillian Murphy, then largely unknown to moviegoing audiences. It shocked moviegoers with its sprinting undead hordes, unforgiving pessimism and cutting-edge employment of the murky frontier that was early digital photography. Boyle directed the feature, while Garland wrote. Flipping its economical production budget of $8 million to an $84 million gross at the global box office, the zombie film was a hit on home video too and has since risen to the status of a classic within the genre.
A sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” was released in 2007, though Boyle and Garland were solely attached as executive producers. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the horror film saw a slightly boosted production budget of $15 million and a still successful global gross of $65 million.
“28 Years Later” would be directed by Boyle, who hasn’t helmed a feature since the 2019 high-concept romantic comedy “Yesterday.” Garland, who has since directed his own features such as “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation” and A24’s upcoming dystopia film “Civil War,” is attached to write a full trilogy of zombie entries. Both Boyle and Garland would produce, along with Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, who were both involved with “28 Days Later.”
The project is seeking a production budget around $75 million — a notable uptick from the thrifty origins of the franchise.
A return to “28 Days Later” has been publicly mulled by Boyle, Garland and Murphy, though the actor is currently unattached to this new project. Speaking with NME in 2022, Murphy stated that the three of them often discussed working on a follow-up.
“Every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it,” Murphy said. “I showed it to my kids recently — some Halloween about four or five years ago — and they loved it. It really stands up, which is amazing for a film that’s 20 years old. So yeah, I love the idea and it’s very appealing to me.” In the same feature, Boyle praised Garland’s pitch for a sequel, saying ”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.”
The Hollywood Reporter was first to report on the project.
