28 Years Later lands at Sony with Cillian Murphy

One of the biggest Hollywood news of the year so far arrived in early January, when we learned 28 Years Later was becoming a reality. Unsurprisingly, it's found a home quickly, and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy is involved.

The Hollywood Reporter dropped the exclusive yesterday that Sony had won the battle against other studios to grab the hot package from original screenwriter Alex Garland and 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle. This puts the new project in the fast lane at the studio. Moreover, Cillian Murphy is returning as an executive producer, plus there's also the possibility of him being part of the ensemble, jumping back into the breakout role the 2002 blockbuster gave him.

Further deal details are unavailable at the moment, but the updated, post-negotiations production budget range for each movie in the planned trilogy (depending on box office performance) sits around $60 million (the previous report talked about the $75 million area). A big release in cinemas was also of great importance to Garland and Boyle, both of whom have always championed the theatrical experience.

Boyle and Garland, the latter of whom is about to release Civil War in cinemas on April 12 after a small date shift, will produce alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, which backed the British-made movie and the sequel 28 Weeks Later.

Expect casting news to come in hot and fast in the coming months, as work on the threequel is well underway.