Over two decades after the release of the genre-defining zombie film 28 Days Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are returning to the realm of horror with the long-awaited 28 Years Later. Essentially helping to jump-start the zombie craze of the 2000s, 28 Days Later follows an average bicycle courier named Jim (Cillian Murphy) who awakens from a month-long coma to find all of London has been besieged by a zombie rage virus. Eschewing the tropes of earlier zombie media, the walkers of 28 Days Later were faster, meaner, and more frightening than their predecessors.
Though Garland and Boyle were only involved peripherally, a sequel was released in 2007 entitled 28 Weeks Later which continued the post-apocalyptic story and was well-received. Meanwhile, the 28 Days Later franchise helped to bring the zombie film back into vogue, and is directly responsible for movies like the Dawn of the Dead remake, spoofs like Shaun of the Dead, and the ongoing Walking Dead universe. Now, Boyle and Garland are returning to deliver even more terror in 28 Years Later, and the creative duo have big plans for an extended sequel series.
After a few months of silence regarding the exciting threequel, the latest news confirms three names have been added to the cast of 28 Years Later. Adding some major star power to the anticipated upcoming zombie film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes have all been cast in undisclosed roles. The A-list British actors have all been attached to the project, but it isn’t clear if they will star in the first film or if they will be a part of the planned sequel which is currently slated to be directed by Nia DaCosta.
A sequel to the 28 Days Later series has been bandied about for years, and even as zombie media bloomed in the late 2000s and early 2010s, no follow-up emerged. However, it has now been confirmed that original creative pair Alex Garland and Danny Boyle are finally developing a second sequel entitled 28 Years Later. Though no details about the film have been revealed yet, Garland will once again pen the script while Danny Boyle will return to the director’s chair.
28 Years Later is the first of a planned trilogy that will continue the post-apocalyptic story even further into the ravages of the rage virus and explore its impact on human society. At this juncture, the film is merely in the developmental phase so no casting has been done yet, and a release date is not on the horizon. In fact, the long-awaited horror sequel hasn’t even landed a studio yet.
The cast of 28 Years Later is beginning to take shape, though it is largely shrouded in mystery as well. Cillian Murphy starred in 28 Days Later and though his character survived, Jim was absent in the first sequel. With Murphy attached to produce, it’s possible he could reprise his role, and co-star along with announced cast members like Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Taylor-Johnson isn’t the only name added to the burgeoning ensemble, and Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes will also appear though their roles haven’t been disclosed yet.
The known cast of 28 Years Later includes:
There have been no 28 Year Later story details yet, but the title suggests the movie will take a big leap in time to explore the impact of the virus outbreak. Though there was initially a script for 28 Months Later (via Variety), it does seem like Alex Garland and Danny Boyle are taking a new approach and focusing on 28 Years Later. While the ending of 28 Days Later gave an optimistic conclusion that suggested the infected were no more, the virus returned in the sequel which saw the contained civilization crumble and London returned to chaos.
28 Weeks Later ended on a much darker note with the survivors escaping to Paris, only to find it overrun with infected. It is safe to assume the third movie will deal with the 28 Days Later virus once again, but it remains to be seen if the world has been in shambles since the end of the second movie or if it will once again be a scenario of life back to normal only for the virus to return in 28 Years Later.