‘28 Years Later: Part III’ Is “On the Back Burner,” Danny Boyle Says — Sony Hits Pause

When Danny Boyle and Alex Garland first announced “28 Years Later,” they made it clear their ambitions went beyond a single movie, outlining a planned trilogy with Boyle directing the first instalment, Nia DaCosta taking over for the second chapter—‘The Bone Temple’—and Boyle returning to close out the story.

Those plans have clearly not worked out. It's on ice, folks.

“It's on the back burner at the moment,” Boyle said this afternoon during a Q&A at the London Film Festival, when asked where things stand with “28 Years Later: Part III.”

Boyle added that he “hopes” the film still gets made, but only if financing can be locked in. He also pointed to Alex Garland's packed schedule as part of the reason the series has stalled. Sure.

None of this should surprise regular readers. Back in February, I reported, via two separate sources, that Sony was getting cold feet about making the trilogy capper, despite having greenlit it in December. People called the report premature. Eight months later, here we are.

Also, notice how Boyle's language has shifted. In late May, he blamed the delay on a “scheduling” problem, saying they literally ran out of time to shoot in the part of Britain where the film is set, and that 2027 was the hope. Now it's “back burner,” with financing as the main reason. Sony got cold feet.

And why would Sony commit to a third film? Boyle's “28 Years Later” made $151M worldwide against a $60M budget, a somewhat soft result. Nia DaCosta's sequel, ‘The Bone Temple,’ despite some of the best reviews of any studio film this year, made about $57M on a $63M budget.

The shame of it is that ‘The Bone Temple’ ends on a cliffhanger that sets up Cillian Murphy's return as Jim, the whole reason a lot of people showed up for this revival. At this point, I would imagine we’re not going to get the threequel unless someone else steps in for Sony—Netflix?