Third ‘28 Days Later’ Film Creeps Closer as Danny Boyle, Cillian Murphy Praise Script Idea: ‘It’s Very Appealing’

Zack Sharf
·3 min read
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Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have floated the idea of making a third “28 Days Later” movie for years, but it now seems like the project, which is titled “28 Months Later,” is getting closer than ever to being a real possibility. Both Boyle and his “28 Days Later” star Cillian Murphy expressed interest to NME in reuniting with screenwriter Garland for the next chapter in the zombie horror franchise. The duo were being interviewed for the 20th anniversary of the original film.

“Every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it,” Murphy said about the next film. “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.”

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Garland’s script for “28 Months Later” was written years ago and Boyle called it “a lovely idea,” adding, “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?”

“[‘28 Months Later’] 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,” Garland continued. “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.”

“28 Days Later” is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies of the 2010s. Murphy plays a bike courier who awakens from a coma to discover England is in apocalyptic ruin due to a zombie virus. The film made $85 million at the worldwide box office on a production budget of only $8 million. Garland, Murphy and Boyle sat out the 2007 sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” which was directed Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, but the film kept acclaim high for the zombie franchise.

Garland first stirred up buzz for a third “28 Days Later” movie in 2015 when he told IGN, “We’ve just started talking about it seriously. 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. … It’s more likely to be ‘28 Months’ than ‘28 Years.’ 28 months gives you one more place to go.”

Given Murphy is 20 years older now from when the first movie opened in theaters, perhaps “28 Years Later” is the route to take after all.

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