If you’ve lost all hope for a return to the fast-zombie infestation of the 28 Days Later franchise, rest assured that Alex Garland’s long-gestating threequel is still percolating in the Hollywood hopper. Danny Boyle, Oscar-winning director of 2002's original (but not its follow-up, 2007's 28 Weeks Later), just confirmed as much in a new interview with The Independent.
“Alex Garland and I have a wonderful idea for the third part,” he said. “It’s properly good.” He added, “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. He’s concentrating on directing his own work at the moment, so it’s stood in abeyance really, but it’s a you-never-know.”
Garland, who scripted the original and went on to direct critically-acclaimed sci-fi films Annihilation and Ex Machina, is gearing up for the release of Devs, an eight-part FX series slated to drop sometime this year. Boyle, meanwhile, will see the release of Yesterday later this month. The latter also dropped out of the upcoming Bond 25 due to “creative differences,” so he’s undoubtedly had some time to consider what projects are worth pursuing in the aftermath.
As fans of the previous two films, we’d be more than happy to see how the rage virus manifests in the evolved aesthetics of these genre visionaries.