Sony Lands ‘28 Years Later’ — $60 Million Budget, Danny Boyle to Direct

After a much-heated bidding war, THR is reporting that Sony has prevailed and acquired the rights to “28 Years Later” and its still-untitled sequel.

Danny Boyle will direct and Alex Garland is writing the screenplay. Boyle would only helm the first film, no director has yet to be chosen for the sequel. Garland is writing both films which are said to be budgeted at around $60 million each.

Cillian Murphy, who starred in the original movie, is also returning, as an executive producer. He might also star in the project, but, for the time being, Boyle and Garland are staying mum about it. No further details were given about plot, characters and production dates.

In 2003, Boyle and Garland’s “28 Days Later” was released and kickstarted a revival of the zombie genre. Its cultural impact on TV and movies is still being felt. It resulted in a sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” which Garland disowned. Boyle didn’t direct that one either.

Last October, Garland criticized “28 Weeks Later”, in fact, he says it almost ruined the entire franchise for him:

I resisted [making a sequel] for a long time because there were things about 28 Weeks that bugged me, I just thought, ‘F*ck that. I’d rather try to write a different story in a different world.

Then, a few years later, he decided to take matters into his own hands by attempting to steer the ship back in the right direct. That’s part of the reason why he’s back for “28 Years Later,” there’s a lot of unfinished business and he wants to wipe out the stink of the last one.

The last film Boyle directed was 2019’s “Yesterday,” a sweet but very slight Beatles-themed romcom that felt like an anomaly within Boyle’s usually grim filmography. Boyle’s other notable works include “Trainspotting,” “127 Hours,” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”