28 Months Later
Five years after Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later released in theaters, the sequel 28 Weeks Later arrived. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 28 Weeks Later depicts a NATO takeover of the U.K., where they supposedly quelled a zombie infestation. Unfortunately, one person infected with the virus survived and manages to spread it to the remaining survivors. At the end of the movie, a handful of survivors escape England and make it to France. However, one of them was still a carrier for the infection, and the movie's cliffhanger showed zombies running rampant in front of the Eiffel Tower, thus indicating the infection had spread across the channel.
Shortly after 28 Weeks Later released, Boyle indicated plans for a third installment were in the works. Unfortunately, screenwriter Alex Garland believed the rumored 28 Months Later movie wouldn't happen due to copyright issues: "When we made 28 Days Later, the rights were frozen between a group of people who are no longer talking to each other."
Boyle still wants to make a third movie, and he even has some ideas for what it would entail. He has declined to share any of his ideas because he worries, albeit jokingly, they might end up in an episode of The Walking Dead. But, Boyle and Garland are both up for making 28 Months Later — there are just several complications holding them back from moving forward. Still, they have hope
Ghostbusters
The first two Ghostbusters movies are among the most beloved films in history, so much that the U.S. Library of Congress selected the original Ghostbusters for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2015 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The first film became a worldwide phenomenon following its 1984 release, which prompted Columbia Pictures to commission a sequel. And while Ghostbusters II wasn't as well received by critics as the first movie, it was still a hit, earning over $215 million worldwide on an estimated $37 million production budget.
Despite the success, director Ivan Reitman didn't have any immediate plans to make a third installment. Flash forward 10 years, and series star and writer Dan Aykroyd finished a 122-page draft for Ghostbusters 3: Hellbent. It appeared that they were finally making progress on a third film, but Bill Murray was reportedly disinterest in making another Ghostbusters. It was then rumored that Ben Stiller could replace Murray in the sequel, alongside Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (who not only starred in Ghostbusters but also acted as co-writer). But, nothing came of the idea. Following Ramis' death in 2014, Reitman officially backed out of directing Ghostbusters 3 but offered his help as a producer. After approaching a few directors, Sony decided to move forward with a soft reboot of the franchise, directed by Paul Feig and starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the new Ghostbusters. The film, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, released in July 2016.
Fantastic Four's success inevitably led Fox to commission a sequel, titled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Director Tim Story and the rest of the cast and crew all returned for the 2007 follow-up. Despite being critically better than the first film, Rise of the Silver Surfer still received mixed to negative reviews and even performed slightly worse at the worldwide box office, taking in $289 million on an estimated $130 million production budget. Those mediocre box office results initially made Fox hesitant about immediately pursuing a sequel.
However, there was hope. All five of the main cast members, including Julian McMahon (aka Doctor Doom), were signed on for three-picture deals. They were also interested in making another movie and diving deeper into the Fantastic Four mythos by introducing new characters, such as Franklin Richards. Although Story was keen to make a third and fourth film, Fox was having none of it. Evans put an end to fans' hopes in 2008 saying the franchise is "a closed book." And he was right. Instead, Fox attempted to reboot the Fantastic Four in 2015 with Josh Trank at the helm — a film so bad it might've finally iced the franchise for good.
Kill BillQuentin Tarantino has a unique approach to filmmaking, which is evident in his films like Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight, and of course, the Kill Bill series. He is also a director who likes to make one story at a time, moving from one project to another without sequelizing. However, just a few short months prior to Kill Bill releasing in theaters, Tarantino and Miramax concluded that the four-hour film would have to be split into two releases. Thus Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2 were born.
Although they aren't his most commercially successful films, the two-part grindhouse homage has become a cult hit in the years since its release. The second film ends on a solid note, with Bill dying and Beatrix and B.B. leaving together. However, Tarantino believes there is always room for more. In 2004, he indicated plans to make a Volume 3 with Uma Thurman reprising her role as Beatrix Kiddo. But Tarantino said he would probably wait around 15 years before making another one.
Over the next few years, Tarantino still said he plans on making another installment (and maybe even a fourth one), with the story potentially focusing on "the revenge of two killers whose arms and eye were hacked by Uma Thurman in the first stories," or a daughter's revenge story. But nothing ever came of either idea. In 2012, Tarantino finally conceded: "I don't know if there's ever going to be a Kill Bill Vol. 3." Still, this is Hollywood we're talking about — and anything is possible.
January 16, 2017