Summary

• Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are reuniting for a new 28 Days Later sequel, titled 28 Years Later.
• The film is part of a planned trilogy that aims to continue the success of the original post-apocalyptic movie.
• 28 Days Later is credited with revitalizing the zombie genre and influencing subsequent zombie movies and TV shows.

A starred Cillian Murphy as a man who wakes up from a month-long coma to find that society has collapsed and London is overrun by humans infected with the "rage virus." The film was followed by a sequel, 28 Weeks Later, released in 2007, though Boyle and Garland were involved only as executive producers.

Now, two decades later, a new sequel is officially in development from the original writer and director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are ing forces again for 28 Years Later with the hopes of launching a new trilogy. Boyle is set to helm the first initial installment, with Garland penning all three, and the budget for each film around $75 million. For now, 28 Years Later isn't yet attached to a studio or streamer, though it's expected to hit the market this week.

Can 28 Years Later Define Another Decade Of Zombie Media?

Released in 2002, 28 Days Later became a surprise success that made $85 million at the box office with a modest budget of $8 million, one of the most profitable horror movies of the year. Perhaps more significantly, 28 Days Later is widely credited with revitalizing the zombie genre and influencing the next decade of zombie movies and TV shows, despite Boyle not considering it a zombie movie. Because of 28 Days Later, zombies were no longer depicted as slow and lethargic, but fast and ferocious, and there was also an increased focus on character-driven drama​​​​​​.

28 Days Later's influence can be seen in World War Z, Zombieland, The Walking Dead, and Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead and Army of the Dead.

28 Days Later, equal parts post-apocalyptic horror and sharp political allegory, focused on the nature of pandemics and the fragile structure of society, subjects that struck a chord in 2002 so soon after 9/11. Now, two decades later, the nature of pandemics has never been more relevant due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which inspired many to recently revisit the film. With the sequel plans now in place, it remains to be seen how Garland and Boyle update 28 Years Later with sharp political allegory and perhaps define another decade of zombie media.

Source: THR