Last week it was announced that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland were officially developing another sequel to 28 Days Later titled 28 Years Later. This is a project that they’ve been talking about doing for years and they are finally pulling the trigger on it, and it might even be the start of a trilogy.
We’ve now learned from Hollywood Insider Jeff Sneider that three major studios are battling for the rights to the project. Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures are all in the mix to snatch up the sequel, and right now, there’s one studio that is currently ahead of the others. It’s explained:
”I’m told that three major studios will be doing battle for Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, which will surely have a role for Cillian Murphy… if he’s willing to come back and do it. Let’s see how the Oscars go.
”Anyway, I’m told that Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount have all been chasing that one and that Warner Bros. is the current frontrunner to land the horror package.”
It’s also explained that WB heads Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy are trying to expand the WB slate like they did at MGM pre-sale in the hopes of further enticing Comcast owner Brian Roberts to make an offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. Another source said, they’d be surprised if screenwriter Alex Garland allowed 28 Years Later to land at Paramount following their collaboration on Annihilation.
Boyle is attached to direct the first installment of the trilogy, and Garland will write all three. The budget for each movie would be around $75 million.
In a previous interview, Boyle teased his interest in making the film, saying: “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?”
Boyle went on to explain: “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.”
As for what we can expect, when previously teasing the third movie, Garland said: “I have got a really cool idea for it, but it’s a much bigger movie, and one of the things about 28 Days Later is that it was small and punk and this idea is less small and punk. But me and Danny speak about it. Every couple of years it will come up, or going, ‘Do you want to do that?’ and then for some reason it never happens.”
Cillian Murphy, who starred in the film, previously said of the franchise: “Every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it. 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.”
It looks like 28 Years Later is actually going to get made and it will be cool to see what story they tell.
