By the time the upcoming horror movie 28 Years Later begins its potential trilogy, writer Alex Garland’s original story will be pretty close to that anniversary milestone. While current concerns see the directing/writing double threat hyping up his 2024 movie Civil War, people are understandably curious about what these new adventures could hold, and after learning Garland’s main theme in these new tales, I have even more questions than I did before.
It’s all thanks to Alex Garland’s appearance on our in-house ReelBlend podcast, as a segment with co-host Jake Hamilton approached the subject of the recently-announced legacy-quel. While inquiring about the road ahead, Garland provided some very interesting food for thought with this response:
That's partly what the film is about, is exactly that. It’s to do with the passage of time, and thinking about what effect the passage of time would have. Is it what you would traditionally call a post-apocalyptic state? Or has something else begun to manifest? Time is really at the core of the engine of the film.
Ok, so the first question I have is, what is the world of 28 Years Later going to be like? The “passage of time,” as well as the potential of a “post-apocalyptic state,” have me thinking about The Last of Us’ vision of a pandemic massively reshaping society at large. Seeing as the I Am Legend sequel cites that same influence, that’s no surprise. But given just how grim and dark the teaming of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland can be, this is already starting to sound quite concerning.
There’s certainly room for that approach to take hold, especially if 28 Weeks Later is still considered canon. As the ending of that 2007 chapter saw the Rage Virus spreading to mainland Europe, that post-apocalyptic state could be executed on a continent-wide scale.
That concern grows in the light of how we still don’t know if 28 Years Later will be working with its original characters. Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy is “available” for the sequel, but at the moment seems to be serving merely as a producer for the film. Another question that springs out of that subject is whether or not Naomie Harris’ Selena will be back for the ride as well, which seems like a dream concept for Nia DaCosta’s potential 28 Years Later sequel.
Tying this all together with a bow is one overarching question: could the 28 Years Later trilogy be setting the world up for a movie following each of the three survivors from 28 Days Later? That would be a tantalizing concept, especially since there have been rumors via World of Reel that The Bikeriders' Jodie Comer has been in talks to star in some capacity.
Could she be the new Hannah, as original actor Megan Burns has been out of the acting game for some time? You can see how dangerous this "what if" scenario can become, and for all I know, Alex Garland's statement somehow writes off everything I've just speculated.
For now, 28 Years Later is still in the early phases of making its way in front of cameras. But Alex Garland fans can currently catch Civil War, as that Kirsten Dunst-led war thriller is currently showing in theaters.
