What is going on with Sony‘s 28 Years Later franchise? For a while, we’ve known that another film in the zombie drama is in active development, with Cillian Murphy in talks to reprise his iconic role as Jim from Danny Boyle’s 2002 dystopian horror classic 28 Days Later. However, recent advertising for the latest installment of the series, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, is telling audiences to “Cancel your plans. Grab your snacks. Gather to witness the ending people have been waiting 28 years for.” Hold up. “Witness the ending?” What about the third movie in the trilogy? Wouldn’t that be the finale? Is Sony quietly shifting gears to signal an abrupt stop to the franchise after The Bone Temple didn’t perform as planned?
What went wrong with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple?
Unfortunately, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple only grossed $56.9 million worldwide on a $63 million production budget. As a surprise for fans of Boyle’s original film, Cillian Murphy’s Jim shows up at the end, suggesting the third and final film will loop back to his ongoing journey. It’s an exciting setup for a franchise finale. Still, casual audiences didn’t exactly vibe with Bone Temple‘s focus on existential and philosophical themes, forgoing action for a cinematic thinkpiece about life after mass extinction.
Netflix to the rescue?
While things appear grim for the 28 Years Later franchise, the situation becomes more complicated as Netflix continues to eye the series. Danny Boyle wants the third and final film to be a theatrical release, but we know how Netflix feels about that, don’t we? If anything, Netflix would give Boyle’s 28 Years Later movie a two-week window (if that) to play in theaters before its Netflix premiere. That’s not ideal. However, given The Bone Temple’s underperformance, Netflix could be Boyle’s best bet to make the film. If Netflix doesn’t pick up the series and Sony drops plans for a third film in the trilogy, where does that leave fans regarding The Bone Temple‘s cliffhanger ending? Yeah. It’s a mess.
Was The Bone Temple that underwhelming? I loved Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, and I’m one of the few people on the planet who enjoyed the heck out of The Marvels (sorry, not sorry). The idea of her directing a philosophical zombie movie excites me. I think I need to check these movies out and solve the mystery myself.
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