28 Days Later: it could've been a video game
British producer (and DNA Films cofounder) Andrew MacDonald spoke at the Brighton Develop Conference Wednesday and revealed that a game adaptation for 28 Days Later was sought, but turned down by virtually every publisher. MacDonald confirms that there were interested independent developers, but DNA Films could not pay for development costs.
The film, which many critics hailed as a reawakening for the zombie genre, came out in late 2003. Assuming the game went from concept to development in a year, it would have released in late 2004. Resident Evil 4, also known as a reawakening for the zombie genre (or, at least, a rebirth of the then-falter RE series), would arrive in early January of 2005. A 28 Days Later game would have likely been ignored at the time, or looked down upon for its relation to box office and over-saturation of a popular gaming genre (horror). Some things are better left unlicensed.
According to Box Office Mojo, 28 Days Later earned over $82 million worldwide -- not bad for a film with only an $8 million budget. Screenwriter Alex Garland was reportedly paid $1 million for writing the Halo script because of Bungie's admiration for the zombie film.
