In 2002,Danny BoyleandAlex Garlandcame together as director and writer to create28 Days Later, now regarded asone of the best horror movies of the 21st century. The haunting film, set in the aftermath of a zombie-like apocalypse in London, becamean unintentional message about 9/11, and has become even more poignant after the COVID pandemic. It also served as the big breakthrough role for its star,Cillian Murphy.
With its success, it came as no surprise that there would be a sequel, the aptly titled28 Weeks Later, in 2007. This film had a different writer, director, and cast, but despite an intense opening scene, it didn’t hit like that first film. Now, after almost two decades,Boyle and Garland are backfor this year’s28 Years Later, starringAaron Taylor-Johnson,Jodie Comer, andRalph Fiennes. There’s just one problem. Where the heck is28 Months Later?
‘28 Weeks Later’ Was a Fun but Disappointing Sequel
In 2002, Danny Boyle was already a big namethanks to the popularity ofTrainspottingandThe Beach(the latter based on a novel by Alex Garland).28 Days Laterwould be Garland’s first feature film screenplay, and together the two made a “zombie” movie that redefined the genre, giving us the then rare movie that had its creatures run instead of shamble due to them being humans infected with the rage virus. This made the monsters way more terrifying. It was also a very human movie, filled with characters we truly cared about,resulting in an $84 million worldwide box officeon an $8 million budget. Critics loved it just as much as audiences,withRoger Ebertwritingthat28 Days Laterwas “a tough, smart, ingenious movie.”
2007’s28 Weeks Laterscript has four writer credits (which is rarely a good sign), and was directed byJuan Carlos Fresnadillo, who had only made one other movie six years prior. Without the trio from the first movie returning,28 Weeks Latermadeonly $65 million worldwide. It was by no means a bad movie, but even though it was packed with then-soon-to-be-big names likeJeremy Renner,Rose Byrne, andIdris Elba,it came across more like an action movie with lots of kills in place of characterization.
Alex Garland Didn’t Want To Write a ‘28 Months Later’
Still,28 Weeks Laterwas far from a disaster.It’s a fun, albeit forgettable, horror thriller, which still had an interesting enough premise as the United States Army tries to help re-open part of London with disastrous results. There was enough there that audiences would want to see what was next in what would certainly be a28 Months Later, but it never became a reality.
28 Months Laterwas originally supposed to happen. However, in 2010, Alex Garland toldWorstPreviewsthat the rights were frozen, which was holding up a third movie.In 2015, Garland spoke toIGNabout the potential project, saying:
“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. 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.”
Garland also revealed thatthe movie would probably be called28 Months Laterand not28 Years Later, because there would only be one place to go after the latter and “28 Decades Lateris probably taking the piss.” That was 10 years ago, so what happened?
“Canon Is Not a Very Danny Boyle Word”: ‘28 Years Later’ Writer Addresses Connection to Controversial Sequel
“It’s not mapped out like a formula…”
Last year, Garland toldInversethat he resisted writing28 Years Later"becausethere were things about28 Weeksthat bugged me. I just thought, “Fuck that. I’d rather try to write a different story in a different world." He explained that an idea finally came to him a few years ago that Boyle really liked, thus28 Years Laterwas born.
‘28 Years Later’ Has Fans Highly Interested Again
To say that fans are excited about this year’s28 Years Lateris an understatement. The first trailer,with that chilling repetitive chant, was a record-setter,becoming the most-viewed horror trailer of the year and the second-biggest ever, behindIt Chapter Two. Not only are Boyle and Garland back together (with the latter having become a very successful director too), but the all-star cast is shown inwhat looks to be a riveting new storywithsurvivors on a small island and a new mutation of the infected. That’s certainly way more intriguing than a simple shoot ‘em up body count movie where bloodshed is thought to be the same as suspense and scares.
Interest in the franchise is at an all-time high. Shortly after the film was announced to have been acquired by Sony Pictures, it was revealed that Boyle and Garland had a whole trilogy planned.Fast-forward to now, andNia DaCostahas already filmed the next movie,28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, which will bring Cillain Murphy, now an A-Lister and Oscar winner, back into the fold. We can’t wait to see what happens next, butlet’s hope that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland resist the temptation to come back several years from now with28 Decades Later. A zombie apocalypse in the year 2400 is not what this franchise should ever be about. It’s the characters that will always come first, not the gimmick.
