Director Danny Boyle Has a Renewed Interest in Making 28 MONTHS LATER
Danny Boyle’s zombie film 28 Days Later was released 20 years ago, and it’s one of the better zombie movies that has been made. That was followed by the sequel 28 Weeks Later in 2007, and over the years there has been talk of a third film, 28 Months Later. At one point several years ago the movie was supposed to move forward, but it never did.
The script for the film was written by Alex Garland, and in a recent interview with NME, Boyle teased a renewed interest in making the films. It sounds like he’s ready to dust off the script and make an effort to develop it. Here’s what he said:
“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?”
Boyle went on to explain:
“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.”
I think he’s right! Fans of the franchise would welcome a third film. It’s something that a lot of us have been wanting to see, so it would be cool if it actually got made after all these years. 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy commented with a laugh:
“I think there’s a problem with that, in that I’m 20 years older. But every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it. Because 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.”
When previously talking about this possible third movie, Garland said:
"A long time has passed and 28 Days Later, when it arrived [it was] fresh, and I don't think it's fresh anymore. I think it actually, speaking of conversations, 28 Days Later joined the zombie conversation, that genre. It did its thing, which is great. It was nice to be part of that, really.
"I have got a really cool idea for it, but it's a much bigger movie, and one of the things about 28 Days Later is that it was small and punk and this idea is less small and punk. But me and Danny speak about it. Every couple of years it will come up, or going, 'Do you want to do that?' and then for some reason it never happens."
It sounds like Boyle is actually really interested in making 28 Months Later a reality. I hope he does it because I’d love to see what kind of story this script tells. If it does well at the box office it could lead to 28 Years Later and 28 Decades Later! I’m joking, but would you be interested in 28 Months Later?