As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, audiences are drawn to acclaimed films recognized for their cinematic excellence, including those featured in our curated list of notable Netflix Oscar contenders.

It was recently announced that Danny Boyle will be reuniting with Cillian Murphy for a sequel to a film that put them both on the map. 28 Days Later was Murphy’s breakthrough in cinema and one that established Boyle among the top directors in the business.

Now, the two Hollywood powerhouses are getting together for a new 28 Years Later trilogy. If it’s as unique as 28 Days Later, it could be set to redefine the zombie genre and inspire a new era of movies.

Boyle is Most Famous for Slumdog Millionaire – Which Was Boosted by the Famous Game Show

Boyle is famous for many films, but Slumdog Millionaire was arguably his greatest success. The director won the Academy Award for Best Director for that film, a feat he hasn’t managed to match since. Slumdog Millionaire was helped by its themes, which played on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire franchise.

The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire slot is a prime example of the game show’s mass appeal. Along with the official title, it also inspired spinoffs like Millionaire Rush, which is among the best RTP slots with an RTP of 96.44 percent.

The title from Big Time Gaming uses many of the tropes from the famous game show to draw players in. This is something that worked for Slumdog Millionaire as well, and the film was Boyle’s most commercially successful work by some margin.

Despite Slumdog Millionaire’s critical and commercial success, it could be argued that 28 Days Later was the more influential work in Boyle’s portfolio of the two. The 2002 post-apocalyptic offering set a new benchmark for zombie horror in the new millennium and inspired more realistic works on film and television such as The Walking Dead.

28 Years Later Will Reinvigorate the Franchise

28 Days Later came out long before the modern franchise model was born and would have arguably been a much bigger hit if it had been released in today’s entertainment industry.

Despite its small-scale release that only resulted in box office takings of $84.6 million, it still inspired a Hollywood sequel in 2007 with Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner in starring roles. 28 Weeks Later will be expected to outperform these earlier films massively.

In the years since 28 Days Later, Murphy has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He has frequently collaborated with Christopher Nolan, which has boosted his profile massively.

With the Irish actor returning to one of the roles that started it all, it will add a media buzz to the new Boyle picture before it has even been released. The fact that 28 Years Later will take place over three installments will only help to increase the marketing efforts.

Indeed, Boyle could be set for his most commercially successful movies yet if he manages to leverage the modern marketing model as well. This would involve commissioning related games and spinoff series on streaming platforms, designed to reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible.

In addition to likely being a mega-hit, 28 Years Later could have an impact on later zombie movies as well. Boyle will doubtlessly have some new tricks and ideas up his sleeves about how to make these new pictures unique and original.

Boyle hasn’t released a film since Yesterday in 2019, and some would say that he hasn’t managed to surpass Slumdog Millionaire in his career since the 2008 movie. 28 Years Later has the potential to be his most successful work to date, and there is going to be a huge amount of hype around the new trilogy.