Danny Boyle And Alex Garland Are Reuniting For Long-Awaited Horror Sequel, 28 Years Later
In 2002, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland teamed up to make the British horror film "28 Days Later," and the zombie genre was changed forever. Sure, we can argue whether or not those infected with the rage virus are truly zombies until we're blue in the face, but that discourse is as stale as those still fighting to prove "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. By taking the social commentary of George A. Romero's zombie films that came before, injecting the story with the bleak stillness of a post-apocalyptic London, and incorporating zombies that move at a breakneck pace — zombies were scary again for the first time in decades.
2007's "28 Weeks Later" saw Boyle and Garland step back into a producer capacity, and although the film certainly has its defenders (myself included), fans have been frothing at the mouth for a return of the magic Boyle/Garland collaboration. Now, over two decades later, it sounds like we're finally going to get what we've been waiting for.
Back in November of 2022, it was rumored that Boyle and Garland were working on a third film in the "28 Days Later" series but not wanting to get our hopes up, the status of the film entered "I'll believe it when I see it," territory. Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, we'll be seeing it sooner rather than later. THR's sources report that "28 Years Later" is being shopped around studios and streamers later this week, with the hopes of selling the film not just as a third installment, but the start of a new trilogy. This would turn the "28 Days Later" brand into a full-blown horror franchise.
We're due for a zombie resurgence
While horror has consistently remained one of the most profitable and prolific genres of cinema since the earliest days of moviemaking, subgenres typically wax and wane in popularity. When slasher films are hot, ghosts and goblins take a back seat. When zombies are taking over, home invasion films tend to be put on the back burner. Zombies have never truly gone away in horror thanks to the cultural juggernaut known as "The Walking Dead," but with the flagship AMC series in such a dominant position throughout the 2010s, the proliferation of zombie films dramatically died down. There were, of course, standouts like "Train to Busan" and K-horror series like "All Of Us Are Dead," but even films with IP recognition — like "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" — or directors with obsessive fanbases — like Zack Snyder's "Army of the Dead" — came and went with little cultural impact.
Now that we're in the 2020s and "The Walking Dead" has completed its final season (although there are more than enough spin-offs to fill the void), we're due for a resurgence in zombie films. "28 Days Later" helped launch the careers of both Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the latter of whom has become one of the most respected creatives in genre filmmaking with hits like "Ex Machina," "Annihilation," and his polarizing latest, "Men." His next project, "Civil War" was named one of /Film's most anticipated releases of 2024.
This is all to say that now is the perfect time for "28 Years Later." Who better to usher in a new wave of zombie cinema than the duo that kicked off the last cycle 22 years ago? Fingers crossed they also bring back John Murphy to compose yet another masterful score and maybe the return of Cillian Murphy, as a treat.