Danny Boyle said he’s “very tempted” to direct a sequel to 28 Days Later, explaining that Alex Garland’s script for 28 Months Later is built around “a lovely idea.”
Boyle and 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy spoke to NME on the 20th anniversary of the film’s 2002 release. “It feels like a very good time actually,” Boyle said. “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?”
The film already received one follow-up, 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, which featured an all-new cast and direction by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Garland’s script for 28 Months Later has been finished for a couple of years, and Boyle thinks now might be a good time to revisit it.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Murphy added that he’d be interested in returning to the role, but “I think there’s a problem with that, in that I’m 20 years older,” he said. “But every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it. 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.”
But even if everyone wants to make the movie, finding room in Boyle’s schedule might be a challenge. He just released Pistol, a miniseries biopic about The Sex Pistols, and he recently signed up to direct a dance stage show based on The Matrix. See where 28 Days Later lands on our list of every Danny Boyle film ranked from worst to best.