Danny Boyle Would Direct ‘28 Months Later’ (But Only if It’s Good)

Not a bad week to be Danny Boyle. The filmmaker’s newest effort, the biopic of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, debuted this week to a wash of praise from reviewers. ScreenCrush’s own Matt Singer was no great fan of the film (the headline of his review? “iDidn’tLoveIt”) and specifically denigrated Boyle’s direction, writing, “He certainly coaxes sharp performances from his actors (particularly Kate Winslet as Jobs’ long-suffering right-hand woman Joanna Hoffman), but he doesn’t so much elevate the material as stay out of its way.” Even so, the general consensus has been more positive and things are looking pretty rosy for Boyle, who’s naturally begun to eye his next project.

That next project will be a sequel to his junkie cult hit Trainspotting, but today brings new news as to where Boyle may direct his attentions following that. In an interview with Indiewire, Boyle teased the possibility of yet another sequel to his breakout zombie hit 28 Days Later, to follow 28 Weeks Later. It would, naturally, be titled 28 Months Later, though if Boyle’s really trying to work his way through discrete measurements of time, the next one should technically be 28 Fortnights Later. In conversation with Indiewire, Boyle expressed his pleasure at the proliferation of zombie pictures in the wake of his own success with 28 Days Later, and said he’d game for another go, so long as the script was up to snuff.

“It’s the usual thing: is it’s not about whether people think it’s a good idea that you’re directing. It’s whether you respond to the script or not,” Boyle said. “It’s just like on [Steve Jobs]. I got the script and I went, ‘That was amazing. I hope I can add to that somehow and it be even better than just the experience of reading it.’” He then added, “It’s not quite ready to go, but, there’s been a bit of work done on that. It’s in a process at the moment and I wouldn’t have any inhibition about being involved in it at all.”

Boyle hones in on a key point: in the lawless, anything-goes world of Hollywood, there are no good ideas or bad ideas. There are only well-written scripts and poorly-written scripts. As we all learned from The LEGO Movie and Helvetica, which is an entertaining and eye-opening documentary about fonts, any seemingly terrible concept can be made great with a dose of intellect and creativity.