Fans of 28 Days Later and its follow-up 28 Weeks Later have been waiting sixteen years for another entry in the franchise, hoping we’d someday see a movie called 28 Months Later. Way back in 2009, we heard that Paul Andrew Williams (The Cottage) was on board to direct the film… but that didn’t go anywhere. Since then, every once in a while, we 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. In an interview last year, Boyle said Garland had already written the script, and this might be the time to make it into a movie. Now the collaborators have confirmed to Inverse that they’re having serious talks about the sequel, which may turn out to be called 28 Years Later.
Garland said, “A few years ago an idea materialized in my head for what would be really 28 Years Later. Danny always liked the idea.“
Boyle added, “So we’re talking about it quite seriously, quite diligently. If he doesn’t want to direct it himself I’ll be well up for it if we can execute a similarly good idea.“
28 Weeks Later wasn’t as successful as its predecessor, making $65.8 million on a budget of $15 million vs. 28 Days Later‘s $84.6 million on a budget of $8 million. That’s part of the reason why another sequel hasn’t happened sooner – along with the fact that Garland wasn’t overly pleased with 28 Weeks Later, which he didn’t write. Garland told Inverse, “I resisted [making a sequel] for a long time because there were things about 28 Weeks that bugged me. I just thought, ‘F*ck that. I’d rather try to write a different story in a different world.’“
Are you a fan of 28 Days Later and/or 28 Weeks Later, and would you like to see Danny Boyle and Alex Garland finally get around to making 28 Months Later (or 28 Years Later)? Share your thoughts on this franchise by leaving a comment below.
I’m sort of with this Garland on this one, because I was disappointed by 28 Weeks Later and that killed my interest in seeing any more 28 – Later movies. But if he and Boyle have a good idea for another one, I’d check it out.