Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s long-awaited sequel to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later is finally coming along. 28 Years Later, as we learned earlier this year, is officially happening and it’s coming together quickly behind the scenes. Case in point, today brings word that the zombie film has added not one but three A-listers to its cast ahead of filming.
According to Deadline, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Bullet Train), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Last Duel) and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu, Skyfall) are all on board to star in 28 Years Later. Boyle is set to direct the film, which has a script from Garland, reuniting the duo who first collaborated on 28 Days Later more than two decades ago. Cillian Murphy, coming off of the Best Picture winner Oppenheimer, is on board as an executive producer. Murphy starred in the original, but there’s no word yet as to whether or not he’ll reprise his role this time around. Boyle and Garland will also produce the film alongside Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice and Bernie Bellew.
Plot details are being kept under wraps for the time being. As such, details on the roles that Taylor-Johnson, Comer and Fiennes will take on are also under wraps. The project is set up at Sony Pictures, with the studio winning a bidding war for the right earlier this year. What’s more, this is just the start of a planned trilogy that will see Nia DaCosta (Candyman) directing the second installment. Sony reportedly intends to shoot the first two films back-to-back, signaling a tremendous amount of confidence in the franchise.
The series has been dormant for some time. The last film, 28 Weeks Later, was released in 2007. 28 Days Later was made for just $8 million in its day and pulled in $82 million at the global box office. 28 Weeks Later was slightly less successful, taking in $64 million against a $15 million budget. But given how hot horror has been lately, Sony seems to believe the time is right to invest big in this zombie universe.
Boyle and Garland were only involved as producers on that one. This time, they are taking charge of the story by steering the ship once again. The fact that Sony and Boyle are going out of their way to cast big-name stars rather than unknowns says a lot. Comer is one of the hottest rising stars right now, while Taylor-Johnson’s star power seemingly grows bigger every year. Fiennes, meanwhile, is arguably one of our finest living actors. It’s one heck of a good place to start from, to be certain.
28 Years Later does not currently have a release date but stay tuned.
