The granddaddy of the modern zombie genre is now officially back, and it seems its biggest star may also be along for the ride. Weeks after news broke that director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland were bringing back the world of their 2002 hit 28 Days Later with 28 Years Later, the sequel has now found a home at Sony. Along with that news comes the additional nugget that Cillian Murphy, who starred in the original film and could win an Oscar this year for Oppenheimer, will executive-produce the sequel and maybe even star.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of Sony’s victory in the competitive bidding for the title, as well as Murphy’s involvement. His character from the original, Jim, did survive that first zombie scare so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for him to return. (Though he did die in multiple alternate endings and using DVD extras as canon for post-apocalyptic sequels is something that happens. Food for thought.)
Boyle will direct and Garland will write the new film. And while the original news of the project framed it as the first of a potential trilogy, all written by Garland, this latest update only mentions a “part two,” of which a director has yet to be determined.
28 Days Later was a turning point in the careers of all involved, though Boyle had already had plenty of success himself. The movie launched Murphy into the mainstream as well as Garland, and all three remain relevant and popular. With a modest reported budget in the neighborhood of $70 million, 28 Years Later feels like a slam dunk. We can’t wait to learn more about it, likely around the time Garland starts doing press for Civil War.
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