’28 Years Later’ in development, Danny Boyle to direct

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are in the midst of developing a sequel to 28 Days Later, titled 28 Years Later.

• READ MORE: ’28 Days Later’ at 20: Danny Boyle and Cillian Murphy on why it wouldn’t get made today

According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Years Later will be directed by Boyle and written by Garland, who shared the same tasks for their 2002 film, 28 Days Later. That film secured a sequel in 2007, 28 Weeks Later, though the pair of Boyle and Garland only executive-produced.

Now, it is being reported that 28 Years Later will kick off an entirely new trilogy for the franchise, with Boyle set to direct the first of the three films, while Garland writes for all three. The budget for each film in the trilogy, per The Hollywood Reporter, is currently USD $75million.

A release date for 28 Years Later has yet to be announced, and neither has its cast.

2002’s 28 Days Later revolutionised the zombie film industry with sprinting and more aggressive zombies and a much darker, dreadful and bleak tone throughout the film. It starred a young Cillian Murphy, who was still rather unknown at the time.

The film stars Cillian Murphy as Jim, who awakens from a coma four weeks after a dangerous virus rages across the land – transforming swathes of the population into red-eyed, murderous zombies. After that atmospheric introduction in London, Jim journeys to Manchester with fellow survivors Selena (Naomie Harris), Hannah (Megan Burns) and Frank (Brendan Gleeson). They’re promised a cure via military broadcast, yet the ulterior motives of Major Henry (Christopher Eccleston) are soon laid bare, leading to a ferocious game of cat-and-mouse.

Speaking to NME in 2022 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 28 Days Later, Murphy and Boyle said that they had often spoken about a follow-up to their hit zombie flick. While Murphy said he’s now too old for it, Boyle revealed that Garland had written a script titled 28 Months Later a few years ago but nothing came of it.

Boyle said at the time: “I’d be very tempted [to direct it]. 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?”

The post ’28 Years Later’ in development, Danny Boyle to direct appeared first on NME.