Fifteen years have gone by since the release of the 28 Days Later sequel 28 Weeks Later, and ever since then we’ve been hearing rumblings that we might someday receive another sequel called 28 Months Later. Way back in 2009, we even heard that Paul Andrew Williams (The Cottage) was on board to direct the film. Since then, every once in a while, we would hear 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland mention 28 Months Later, say there was a great idea for the sequel, then later say it might never happen. Now in an NME interview, Boyle has said that Garland already wrote the script for 28 Months Later a couple years ago and he thinks now might be a good time to make it.
Boyle 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? 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.“
Genre fans have made it clear over the last fifteen years that they’re anxious to see 28 Months Later, so I don’t know why Boyle and Garland have been sitting on it for so long. Here’s hoping the film will get off the ground before we reach the “28 years later” mark from the release of the first movie (which just celebrated its 20th anniversary).
Boyle and Garland’s 28 Days Later (pick up a copy HERE) had the following synopsis:
A virus is accidentally released from a British research facility. Those infected with the virus develop uncontrollable fits of killing rage. Twenty-eight days later, humanity is on the verge of extinction and a small group of survivors in London battle other survivors while avoiding the deadly virus.
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo from a script he crafted with Rowan Joffe, E.L. Lavigne, and Jesus Olmo, 28 Weeks Later (buy it HERE) told this story:
28 Weeks Later, the follow up to the hugely successful 28 Days Later, picks up six months after the rage virus has annihilated the British Isles. The US Army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that the reconstruction of the country can begin — but they could not be more wrong. As the first wave of refugees arrive, and a family is reunited, a terrible secret is revealed: The virus is not yet dead, and this time, it is more dangerous than ever.
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