28 Days Later marked the second collaboration for director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland after 2000’s The Beach. While the latter isn’t widely seen as a seminal work for either creative, the former certainly is. The 2002 zombie thriller stars Cillian Murphy as Jim, a survivor who attempts to traverse London in search of sanctuary following the outbreak of the Rage Virus in the U.K.
Boyle and Garland returned as executive producers for the sequel, 28 Weeks Later (2007), but Boyle is now back as director and Garland as screenwriter for the upcoming 28 Years Later, which marks a reunion after 18 years of working on their own projects. In those 18 years, Boyle directed movies like Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010), and Steve Jobs (2015), while Garland moved into directing with projects like Ex Machina (2014), Annihilation (2018), and Civil War (2024). Now, it’s been revealed why the pair didn’t work together for so long.
Murphy serves as an executive producer on 28 Years Later and he is expected to reprise his role as Jim for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the already-sH๏τ sequel.
Danny Boyle & Alex Garland Recall Falling Out While Making Sunshine
The 2007 Sci-Fi Created A Rift Between Them
Prior to reuniting for 28 Years Later, Boyle and Garland had a major disagreement while making Sunshine, with both creatives now revealing what went wrong. Released in 2007, the sci-fi thriller chronicles one crew’s mission to restart the dying sun, which is complicated by the discovery of the previous ship sent to accomplish the job. Sunshine stars Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Michelle Yeoh, with the movie marking a reunion for Murphy, director Boyle, and screenwriter Garland after the success of 28 Days Later.
During a recent interview with Empire to promote 28 Years Later, Boyle and Garland reveal that a key creative disagreement emerged between them while making Sunshine. “We had a falling out,” says Boyle. “It was my fault.” This falling out, they explain, stemmed from Garland’s desire to leave “space” for audience interpretation, something he tries to do in all of his scripts. “I’m constantly being upbraided for it [in reviews],” Garland says. Boyle, however, wanted more of an explanation in Sunshine. As he explains:
“Sci-fi. F—ing Christ. You are really inventing the world in every single precious detail. I remember becoming obsessed with that. I wrote a prologue to try to explain it all and [Alex] said, ‘If you f—ing put that on the film, I’m off.“
The falling out, though, was purely creative, with Boyle clarifying that “It wasn’t a grudge.” Still, Boyle explains, Garland eventually apologized by way of a thoughtful letter:
“You wrote a very sweet note, saying, ‘I’m sorry we had such a miserable time together and I hope you have a much better time on the next film. I’ve still got the note.”
Several years after Sunshine, Boyle and Garland reconnected as Garland was making Ex Machina, his first film as a director. “I thought, ‘I need to show this to Danny. I need to know what Danny thinks’… Then I remember reaching out,” Garland recalls. This quickly led to talk of how they could continue the 28 Days Later franchise.
What Boyle & Garland’s Reunion Means For 28 Years Later
Sunshine’s Reception Explained
Together, Boyle and Garland have a strong track record. 28 Days Later and the Rage Virus marked a crucial evolution in the zombie horror sub-franchise with its introduction of fast zombies, while Sunshine is now a highly-regarded work of science-fiction. Reviews for the 2007 film were somewhat lukewarm at the time and the film was a box office disappointment, but it now has a cult following for its inventive mix of epic sci-fi and claustrophobic horror. Both of these two movies bode well for the eventual reception to 28 Years Later.
Sunshine has a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed only $34 million at the box office.
Source: Empire
