Ahead of the release of the 28 Years Later sequel The Bone Temple on Jan. 16, Sony Pictures has officially greenlit the third entry in the new trilogy. The development comes, it is said, in light of the early positive reactions to The Bone Temple and the solid box office response to the first.
Ralph Fiennes reprise his character from 28 Years Later in The Bone Temple. Cillian Murphy, who played the lead in Danny Boyle's groundbreaking 28 Days Later and is making a key appearance in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, is expected to return for the third outing too, according to a Deadline report.
Alex Garland, who scripted 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple, is working on the material for the third. Danny Boyle, who directed the first and won plaudits for taking the zombie horror franchise in a new direction in 28 Days Later, was also applauded for his work in 28 Years Later.
The Bone Temple, however, is helmed by Nia DaCosta. It's not yet known if Boyle would written for the third even though he had earlier expressed interesting in directing it.
The cast of 28 Years Later comprised Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Jack O’Connell and Ralph Fiennes. However, Comer wouldn't be appearing given the tragic fate of her character in the former.
In an earlier interview with Collider, Boyle said 28 Years Later was influenced by 28 Days Later but doesn't directly follow 28 Weeks Later, the second of the original movie series. He called its storytelling "ambitious" but not something along the lines of a Mission Impossible film — but in terms of "intellectual ideas and emotional reach through the genre."
Interestingly, 28 Years Later was shot on a $60 million budget as opposed to the $8 million budget of 28 Days Later. The first film grossed an impressive $84.6 million against such a relatively minuscule budget. 28 Years Later reportedly grossed $151.3 million.
