The duo behind 2002’s 28 Days Later are ‘quite seriously’ sizing up a return to the zombie-infested UK with 28 Years Later.
Interest in another film to follow 28 Days Later has never really diminished, despite the original’s release all the way back in 2002. A few years later in 2007 we would get Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later, a solid enough sequel but lacking much of a creative input from both Boyle and Garland. Danny Boyle has talked up the prospect of a sequel at some points throughout the years, and as recently as last November was talking about having an Alex Garland script titled 28 Months Later knocking about somewhere (although he also seemed to have forgotten about it, until asked during the middle of an interview).
Now though, the project seems to be at the forefront of both Boyle and Garland’s attention. What’s more, the idea of exploring a zombie-infested UK some 28 months after the outbreak of the Rage Virus seems to have been jettisoned in favour of a story looking at events over a much longer timeline… 28 years later, according to Boyle.
Speaking to Inverse, the duo reveal that a sequel under their joint creative stewardship is definitely on the cards, with Boyle stating that they are “talking about it quite seriously, quite diligently. If he [Garland] doesn’t want to direct it himself I’ll be well up for it if we can execute a similarly good idea.”
Garland hasn’t yet helmed a film in the series, although in the 21 years since he wrote 28 Days Later, he has become a very successful director in his own right. He did claim not so long back that after the release of Civil War, his next highly-anticipated film (which is expected to release later this year), he was taking a step back from directing. However, Boyle’s comments here seem to suggest that Garland is at the very least, toying with the idea of helming 28 Years Later.
As for the change in direction for the series, the time-jump of 28 years might be connected to Garland’s disdain for the 2007 sequel as he also says in the interview that, “I resisted [making a sequel] for a long time because there were things about 28 Weeks that bugged me,” Garland says. “I just thought, ‘F*ck that. I’d rather try to write a different story in a different world.”
Here’s hoping this one comes together, no matter who ends up directing it. Whilst 28 Weeks Later was a respectable entry in the series, a fresh entry from its original creators is what we’ve all been hoping for and at this point, it seems tantalisingly close. We’ll bring you more updates on this one as we hear it.
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