Featured Image Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Topics: TV and Film
Charisa Bossinakis
Danny Boyle has revealed the script for the highly-awaited 28 Months Later is complete and says he is down to direct the third instalment.
The British filmmaker recently sat down with NME to talk about Alex Garland’s script for the threequel of the 2002 post-apocalyptic film.
He revealed that Garland sent him the script a few years ago with a ‘lovely idea’ at its core, which made him interested in directing it.
Boyle told the outlet: “I’d be very tempted [to direct it]. It feels like a very good time actually.
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“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?”
Boyle, who just finished working on the six-part miniseries based on the Sex Pistols, said it’s becoming harder for films to be theatrically released in the age of streaming, which has deterred him from making another movie.
He said: “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.
“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.”
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However, he added that making the third flick may be the thing to get bums on seats.
I mean, we are so there.
But this isn’t the first time that the director has teased he’d return to the franchise, as back in 2019 he told The Independent that he and Garland had a ‘wonderful idea for the third part’.
He added: "It's properly good.
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"The original film led to a bit of a resurgence in the zombie drama and it doesn't reference any of that. It doesn't feel stale at all.”
It looks like Cillian Murphy would be happy to come back to complete the trilogy.
He told NME: “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.”
The first film, which was released in 2002, garnered a jaw-dropping USD $85.7 million (AUD $134.9m or £75m), despite only having a budget of USD $8 million (AUD $12.5m or £7m).
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It follows Jim, played by Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy, a bike courier in Great Britain, who wakes up from a coma only to find that a zombie-like virus has absolutely ravaged his city and only a few survivors remain.
Following the success, the sequel 28 Weeks Later was released in 2007 to rave reviews and accumulated USD $65.8 million (AUD $103m or £57m) at the box office.