Things are really revving up when it comes to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s “28 Years Later” trilogy. We’ve already tackled the casting for the first one, which starts production in May. Boyle is supposed to be directing that one.
There is now a director attached to helm the second film and it’s Nia DaCosta. Yes, the same filmmaker responsible for the gargantuan mess that was “The Marvels.” DaCosta’s other credits include the 2018 indie “Little Woods” and 2021’s “Candyman” remake.
If you remember, an 11.01.23 Variety report had someone from Disney leaking to the trade that, while “The Marvels” was still in post-production, DaCosta disappeared — it turns out that she had already started working on her next film, “Hedda” (which recently wrapped production). The source went on to tell Variety, “If you’re directing a $250M movie, it’s kind of weird for the director to leave with a few months to go”
DaCosta is the same person who also called ‘Marvels’ detractors “virulent and violent and racist and sexist and homophobic.” So, there’s a lot of baggage that comes with DaCosta, but Boyle is taking the risk and believes she can steer the ship forward with his ‘28 Years’ sequel.
In January, as part of a heated bidding war, Sony landed the rights to the ‘28 Years’ trilogy and gave each film a $60 million budget. The sequel is set to be shot later this year. All three films are being written by Garland.
The goal is to actually have all three films shot back-to-back-to-back that way, according to Deadline, “the directors can get on the same page on where they see the story while also bringing their own unique visions for each film.”