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Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (Annihilation, Men), the director and writer behind 2002’s hit horror film 28 Days Later, are reteaming for the long-awaited sequel, 28 Years Later. What’s more is that this could potentially be the start of even more sequels.
THR, who broke the news, reports that the “new zombie thriller 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.”
28 Days Later received a follow up in 2007 with 28 Weeks Later, which was executive produced by Boyle and Garland but directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Now, the pair hope to launch a new trilogy with 28 Years Later. The plan is for Garland to write all three entries, with Boyle helming the first installment.
Boyle and Garland will also produce alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of one-time studio Twentieth Century Fox that originally backed the British-made movie and its sequel.
The original film starred Cillian Murphy “as a man who wakes up from a coma after a bicycle accident to find England now a desolate, post-apocalyptic collapse, thanks to a virus that turned its victims into raging killers. The man then navigates the landscape, meeting a survivor played by Naomie Harris and a maniacal army major, played by Christopher Eccleston.”
This likely shouldn’t come as too big of a shock, as Boyle and Garland have expressed interest in continuing the franchise before. Just two years ago, Boyle talked about a sequel at an anniversary screening of 28 Days Later.
“I’d be very tempted [to direct it],” Boyle said at the time, referring to the script that Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Annihilation, Men) had written. “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?”
Boyle added at the time, “It might come back into focus because one of the things that’s happening in the business at the moment is it has to be a big reason for you to go to the cinema, because there are less and less reasons. It’s hard for companies distributing films and for cinema chains to show films, they’re struggling to get people into the cinema unless it’s something like Top Gun: Maverick or a Marvel. But a third part would get people in, if it was half-decent.”
No plot details have been announced as of yet, but stay tuned.