Danny Boyle confirms a ‘properly good’ sequel to post-apocalyptic zombie horror 28 Days Later is in the works 17 years on from the original
Danny Boyle has revealed he is working on a new sequel to his 2002 film 28 Days Later.
The director told how a third installment in the franchise is now in the works with screenwriter Alex Garland, who wrote the original film.
Speaking to The Independent, he said: ‘Alex Garland and I have a wonderful idea for the third part. It’s properly good.
Film: Danny Boyle has revealed he is working on a new sequel to his 2002 film 28 Days Later
‘The original film led to a bit of a resurgence in the zombie drama and it doesn’t reference any of that. It doesn’t feel stale at all.
‘He’s concentrating on directing his own work at the moment, so it’s stood in abeyance really, but it’s a you-never-know.’
28 Days Later stars Cillian Murphy as a man named Jim who wakes up from a coma 28 days after Britain has been decimated by a rage-inducing virus.
Made on a budget of $8million (£6.27million), the film was highly profitable at the box office, grossing $65million (£50.9million).
Franchise: The director told how a third installment in the franchise is now in the works with screenwriter Alex Garland, who wrote the original film(pictured in June 2019)
Credited with revitalizing the zombie genre, the film was previously ranked by Time Out magazine as one of the top 100 best British films ever made.
The film was followed by the sequel 28 Weeks Later in 2007 which followed the efforts of a NATO-led military force establishing a safe zone in London in an effort to begin rebuilding the country.
28 Weeks Later starred Rose Byrne, Idris Elba and Robert Carlyle and was well-received by critics.
There has been talk of a third film in the franchise for some time with Alex Garland previously saying another installment was first spoken about in 2015.
Success: Credited with revitalizing the zombie genre, the film was previously ranked by Time Out magazine as one of the top 100 best British films ever made
Although the title and plot of the project of the new film is currently unknown, the writer did say it would likely be set 28 ‘months’ after the viral outbreak.
In an interview with IGN, he said: ‘We’ve got an idea. Danny [Boyle] and [producer] Andrew [Macdonald] and I have been having quite serious conversations about it so it is a possibility. It’s complicated.
‘There’s a whole bunch of reasons why it’s complicated, which are boring so I won’t go into, but there’s a possibility.’
‘It’s more likely to be 28 Months than 28 Years. 28 Years gives you one more place to go. 28 Decades is probably taking the piss.’
Sequel: The film was followed by the sequel 28 Weeks Later in 2007 which followed the efforts of a NATO-led military force establishing a safe zone in London