Alex Garland has found a lot of success as a director since he wrote 28 Days Later, but upon returning to the franchise, he never even considered directing a revival movie. Garland and director Danny Boyle sat down with ComicBook ahead of the release of 28 Years Later, which sees both of them returning to their respective roles as writer and director. The original film came out in 2003, and Garland made his directorial debut in 2014 with Ex Machina. He has had a few other successes since then, but he told us that he did not want to direct this movie himself. In fact, he is not planning on directing anything at this point.
“No. I was certainly, at that point, sort of done with directing and wanted to write for other people,” Garland said. “[That] was one thing, but also, even if Danny hadn’t wanted to do it… I think if Danny hadn’t wanted to direct it, that probably would have just ended it at that point. And I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to step in and, take that role.”
“It just wasn’t the dynamic by which the original film was made,” he went on. “And the original film was the product of lots of people working together. Cast, crew and sort of broadly… But within it was some kind of interaction between me and Danny. And that had to be true for this one as well.”
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For Garland to describe himself as “done with directing” is a bit surprising considering his successes over the last decade. He wrote and directed Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men, and Civil War during that time. He also wrote and co-directed Warfare with director Ray Mendoza, which came out just this year. Garland was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay for Ex Machina, and he won several other awards for the movie.
Still, fans were also excited to see him reunited with Boyle for this long-awaited revival. The duo made 28 Days Later together on a tight budget, and it was more successful than studios and distributors anticipated. After that, the reigns were handed off to other creators for a sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which is not as beloved as the original. To see the original team back together now has fans very excited for what’s to come.
Garland and Boyle’s 28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20th in the U.S. It was shot simultaneously with a sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which was written by Garland but directed by Nia DaCosta. It’s currently scheduled to hit theaters on January 16, 2026. Finally, they will wrap up their story with an untitled fifth film written by Garland and directed by Boyle, which doesn’t have a release date yet.
The post 28 Years Later: Alex Garland Says He Never Considered Directing the New Trilogy (And May Be Done With Directing Altogether) appeared first on ComicBook.com.
