After a much-heated bidding war, Sony prevailed and acquired the rights to Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later,” which will be written by Alex Garland. It was a hot package, and a few studios were in the running for the rights, including Warner Bros.
Cillian Murphy, who starred in the original movie, “28 Days Later,” is also returning, as an executive producer. He might also star in the project, but, for the time being, Boyle and Garland have not confirmed or denied his presence.
Now, here comes this Variety interview, which was recorded in December 2023, but the trade has only decided to post it today. In it, Murphy confirms that he’s absolutely “available” to be a part of Boyle and Garland’s sequel. This strikes me as an unofficial confirmation.
Murphy is the current frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Actor, unless Paul Giamatti pulls off the upset, so it would be quite the catch for Boyle/Garland to have him as their lead. If you remember, Murphy played Jim in 2003’s “28 Days Later.”
Save for Steven Knight’s “Peaky Blinders” movie, which is supposed to be shot this year, I don’t believe Murphy is currently attached to any other project. He could definitely make room in his schedule for what will certainly be a big deal blockbuster.
“28 Years Later” is said to have a budget of $60 million. No details were given about plot, characters and production dates. The plan is for ‘Years’ to kick off a trilogy of films, all scripted by Garland — Boyle is only set to direct the first one. There is also no reason to doubt that this won’t be shot in 2024.
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.”