28 Years Later: 3 Major Studios Battling for Horror Sequel Rights

Forum 9 months ago

28 Years Later: 3 Major Studios Battling for Horror Sequel Rights

Three major studios are battling to win the rights to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 Years Later.

Studio Battle Rages on for 28 Years Later

Jeff Sneider of The Insneider revealed that Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount are all in the mix for the sequel to 28 Days Later and subsequent films in a trilogy. And one studio is currently ahead of the others.

”I’m told that three major studios will be doing battle for Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, which will surely have a role for Cillian Murphy… if he’s willing to come back and do it. Let’s see how the Oscars go,” said Sneider in his article.

”Anyway, I’m told that Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount have all been chasing that one and that Warner Bros. is the current frontrunner to land the horror package.

One source said it felt like Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy are trying to juice the WB slate like they did at MGM pre-sale in the hopes of further enticing Comcast owner Brian Roberts to make an offer for WBD. The same source said they’d be surprised if screenwriter Alex Garland allowed 28 Years Later to land at Paramount following their collaboration on Annihilation.”

Boyle is attached to direct the first installment. Garland is down to write all three. The budget for each movie would be around $75 million.

The duo would also produce, alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of the now defunct Twentieth Century Fox that backed the British-made movie and its sequel, in the 2000s.

In 28 Days Later, Cillian Murphy starred as Jim, a London bicycle courier who awakes from a coma to discover a contagious virus caused the collapse of society. The ensemble features Naomie Harrie, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston, Noah Huntley, Stuart McQuarrie, and Brendan Gleeson.

Last year, Murphy said he’d love to do a 28 Days Later sequel. Murphy joked that the film would have to be called 28 Years Later because of the long gap between films.