Editing 28 Days Later (section)

=== Development ===
Early influences on writer [[Alex Garland]] included the [[George A. Romero]] films ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' (1968) and ''[[Dawn of the Dead (1978 film)|Dawn of the Dead]]'' (1978), which he loved as a child. Garland claimed to have largely forgotten about the zombie genre until he played the video game ''[[Resident Evil (1996 video game)|Resident Evil]]'' (1996), which reminded him how much he loved zombies after "having not really encountered zombies for quite a while".<ref name="interview">{{cite news |last=Hasan |first=Zaki |title=INTERVIEW: Director Alex Garland on Ex Machina |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/zaki-hasan/interview-director-alex-g_b_7038618.html |work=HuffPost |date=10 April 2015 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410071357/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/zaki-hasan/interview-director-alex-g_b_7038618.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Ralph |date=2023-06-27 |title='28 Days Later': The Oral History of Danny Boyle's Genre-Redefining Zombie Masterpiece |url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/28-days-later-oral-history-danny-boyle-alex-garland |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]] |archive-date=11 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611123951/https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/28-days-later-oral-history-danny-boyle-alex-garland |url-status=live }}</ref> Director [[Danny Boyle]] liked Garland's screenplay for a proposed zombie film, having directed the [[The Beach (film)|2000 film adaptation]] of Garland's novel ''[[The Beach (novel)|The Beach]]''.<ref name=":2" />

Producer [[Andrew Macdonald (producer)|Andrew Macdonald]] had access to funding from the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|National Lottery]], and pitched it to [[Universal Pictures]], who declined to support it. Budget constraints proved to be an issue, with [[Christopher Eccleston]] having to take an emergency pay cut.<ref name=":2" />

On the [[Audio commentary|DVD commentary]], Boyle and Garland frequently call the film [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] and a [[horror film]], commenting on scenes that quote from Romero's [[Night of the Living Dead (film series)|''Dead'' trilogy]]. During the initial marketing of the film, Boyle tried to distance the film from such labels. Boyle identified [[John Wyndham (writer)|John Wyndham]]'s 1951 novel ''[[The Day of the Triffids]]'' as Garland's original inspiration for the story.<ref name="Guardian2">{{cite news |last=Kermode |first=Mark |date=6 May 2007 |title=A capital place for panic attacks |work=The Guardian|location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/06/features.review |url-status=live |access-date=12 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513170940/http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0%2C%2C2073292%2C00.html |archive-date=13 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Inglis |first=Becca |date=2022-11-19 |title=28 Days Later gutted the apocalyptic thriller – but is it a zombie movie? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/28-days-later-how-danny-boyle-reanimated-zombie-movie/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FILMMAKER MAGAZINE {{!}} Summer 2003: The Diseased World |url=https://www.filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/summer2003/features/diseased_world.html |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.filmmakermagazine.com}}</ref>

Five months after the film was released in Europe, video game publisher [[NovaLogic]] hosted a [[graffiti]] competition in a cross-promotion with the game ''[[Devastation (video game)|Devastation]]''. The connection was owed mainly to the similar theme of a devastated world. The prizes consisted of signed screenplay copies and posters along with DVDs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novalogic.com/press.asp?ID=74 |title=DEVASTATION GONE GOLD |date=14 April 2003 |access-date=1 October 2022 |website=[[NovaLogic]] |archive-date=11 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611123959/http://www.novalogic.com/press.asp?ID=74 |url-status=live }}</ref> For the Infected, Boyle took inspiration from real-life diseases, particularly [[Ebola]], with aspects of [[rabies]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/28-days-later-interview-anniversary-cillian-murphy-danny-boyle-3340282|title='28 Days Later' at 20: Danny Boyle and Cillian Murphy on why it wouldn't get made today|first=Dan|last=Seddon|website=[[NME]]|date=1 November 2022|access-date=11 February 2024|archive-date=11 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611124000/https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/28-days-later-interview-anniversary-cillian-murphy-danny-boyle-3340282|url-status=live}}</ref> [[James McAvoy]] auditioned for a role as an Infected.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2013-03/22/james-mcavoy-interview-trance-macbeth-x-men|title=James McAvoy interview on Trance & X:Men Days of Future Past – GQ.COM (UK)|date=26 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326222534/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2013-03/22/james-mcavoy-interview-trance-macbeth-x-men |access-date=11 February 2024|archive-date=26 March 2013}}</ref>