Lead actor in talks for Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later’ sequel
In January, it was revealed Danny Boyle and Alex Garland had landed a green light for a sequel to 2002’s 28 Days Later at Sony. The follow-up, appropriately titled 28 Years Later, will see Cillian Murphy joining the team as executive producer with suggestions also pointing towards him reprising his role as former bicycle courier Jim.
28 Years Later was taken to various Hollywood studios before the official announcement, which generated immediate interest in a fiery bidding war, but ultimately went into the hands of Warner Bros and Sony, who gave the film a budget of $60 million.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the highly-anticipated sequel and the return of its original cast and crew was compared by some in the industry as similar to George Miller returning to Mad Max with 2015’s Fury Road.
Now, it is being reported that Jodie Comer is set to star in part two of the story alongside Murphy as the lead roles. The news was brought to light by Daniel Richtman, with suggestions of additional casting set to be announced in the near future.
Last year, Garland said of plans for a sequel: “So we’re talking about it quite seriously, quite diligently…If he doesn’t want to direct it himself I’ll be well up for it if we can execute a similarly good idea.” He added that he avoided making a sequel for a long time because he was “bugged” by 28 weeks Later, which has since urged him to begin writing “a different story in a different world.”
The plan for 28 Years Later is said to be the first of a trilogy of new films, all written by Garland, with only the first to be directed by Boyle. Murphy and Comer have enjoyed significant successes as of late, with the former having recently clinched a number of awards for his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller Oppenheimer. It has also been suggested that he will begin filming a Peaky Blinders movie later this year.
Murphy’s potential involvement in 28 Years Later will see the actor pick up a role that significantly kicked off his Hollywood career after the movie grossed $82.7 million. 28 Days Later also marked the revival of the zombie genre, with many others following in its path, including World War Z, I Am Legend, and more recently The Last of Us.
Shooting for the sequel is set to begin sometime next year, with details on the plot yet to come to light. Watch the trailer for 28 Days Later below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.