Cinema lovers will never be wanting for zombies, but most can agree that 28 Days Later is one of the genre’s best.
The 2002 horror film starring Cillian Murphy was directed by Oscar-winning journeyman Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) and written by Alex Garland (Civil War), now an acclaimed filmmaker in his own right.
A zombie movie in essence, Boyle and Garland’s creation sought to subvert the genre by swapping out the lumbering brain-munchers of yore for hyper-aggressive humanoids that, as Entertainment Weekly‘s critic put it, “leap forward with shuddery speed, rasping like demons and vomiting blood, a mere drop of which can transform the healthy in a matter of seconds.”
Five years after its release came Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later, a critical and commercial success that had fans clamoring for more. Garland’s been floating the idea of a sequel for years, but it didn’t come to fruition until recently, when it was revealed that the writer and Boyle were linking up for the aptly-titled 28 Years Later. Better yet, it would be the first in a planned trilogy.
That’s a lot to process, so join us as we unpack the first installment in the franchise’s red-eyed revival. Here’s everything we know about 28 Years Later, including its release date, cast, and details we’ve gleaned about its plot.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in ’28 Years Later’. Miya Mizuno/Columbia
The official 28 Years Later plot synopsis describes the film thusly: “[A group of survivors] lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors, as well.”
Yep, three decades on, the world is still zombified — the film’s tagline, after all, is, “Time didn’t heal anything.” Those survivors include Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Isla (Jodie Comer), and their 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams).
“It’s a closed and necessarily very tight community,” Boyle told Empire. “There are very strict defense laws, obviously, to survive that long in what is effectively an ongoing hostile environment. They’ve created a successful community, as they see it.”
Star Ralph Fiennes, who plays a doctor, shared some more plot details with IndieWire last year. “Britain is 28 years into this terrible plague of infected people who are violent, rabid humans with a few pockets of uninfected communities. And it centers on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother,” he explained. “He leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain. But of course, around them hiding in forests and hills and woods are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd, but actually is a force for good.”
There are two, actually. The first trailer dropped in December 2024, juxtaposing shots of survivor camps in the verdant English countryside alongside grotesque glimpses of zombified figures and a towering column of human skulls. It reveals less about the story than it does the world of the sequel.
The second, which offers a deeper look at the story and characters, arrived this week. “There are many kinds of death,” Fiennes’ doctor intones. “And some are better than others.”
An infected in ’28 Years Later’. Miya Mizuno/Columbia
If you were miffed that it took nearly two decades for a 28 Weeks Later follow-up, rest assured that the franchise’s producers are making up for that lost time. The long-awaited sequel is, in fact, the first in a new trilogy of films, all of which are penned by Garland.
Less than a year after 28 Years Later, we’ll be treated to 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which was shot back-to-back with its predecessor. Slipping into the director’s chair for the sequel is Nia DaCosta, director of Candyman and The Marvels, who will next release this year’s Hedda.
Beyond its release date on Jan. 16, 2026, we don’t know much about The Bone Temple at the moment, but we’d imagine it has something to do with that, uh, temple of bones spied in 28 Years‘ teaser trailer.
According to Empire, the unnamed third film won’t go into production until the studio sees how audiences react to 28 Years Later. If it drives people as wild as the franchise’s virus, then Boyle will reportedly return to send the trilogy home.
“This is very narratively ambitious. Danny and I understood that,” said Garland. “We tried to condense it, but its natural form felt like a trilogy.”
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in ’28 Years Later’. Miya Mizuno/Columbia
28 Years Later lurches into theaters on June 20. Its sequel, meanwhile, arrives less than a year later on Jan. 16, 2026.
Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) in ’28 Years Later’. Miya Mizuno/Columbia
Leading the film are a trio of reliable hands: Taylor-Johnson, Comer, and Fiennes.
Golden Globe winner Taylor-Johnson rose to fame as the title character in Kick-Ass (2010) and its 2013 sequel. He’s remained a staple of the superhero world thanks to his role as Pietro Maximoff in the MCU and as Kraven the Hunter in, well, Sony’s Kraven the Hunter.
Comer, meanwhile, won a Primetime Emmy for her leading turn on Killing Eve (2018–2022). She’s since starred in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel (2021) and Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders (2024).
Jodie Comer at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards in 2024. Mike Marsland/WireImage
Fiennes has been nominated for an Emmy, seven Golden Globes, and three Academy Awards, including for his turn as a conflicted cardinal in the papal thriller Conclave (2024). In addition to playing the Harry Potter franchise’s big bad Voldemort, Fiennes has recently appeared in Mark Mylod’s The Menu (2022) and Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023).
The 28 Years Later cast is rounded out by Jack O’Connell, who stars alongside Michael B. Jordan in the upcoming Sinners. He will reportedly play a cult leader — perhaps one with a thing for bones?
Cillian Murphy as Jim in ’28 Days Later’. Peter Mountain/Fox Searchlight
Despite rampant speculation that a certain emaciated zombie in the first trailer was Murphy, producer Andrew Macdonald confirmed that he will not appear in 28 Years Later. The Oscar winner is, however, an executive producer on the film.
Macdonald did hint that Jim, the character Murphy played in 28 Days Later, could appear later in the trilogy. “He is not in the first film, but I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line… I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy,” he told Empire.
This dovetails with remarks made last May by Tom Rothman of Sony Motion Pictures Group, the film’s studio. When asked by Deadline if Murphy would appear, Rothman said, “Yes, but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way.”
For those who need a reminder, Murphy starred in 28 Days Later as a courier who wakes in a hospital only to find the world on the brink of disaster due to the accidental release of a “rage virus” that turns those it infects into shrieking, blood-crazed ghouls. As he links up with other survivors, he comes to discover, as one often does in these scenarios, that humanity can be every bit as frightening as the undead.
Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, and Naomie Harris in ’28 Days Later’. 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
If you want to refresh yourself on the first two films — it has been 18 years since the latter — you can rent 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later via platforms like Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video.
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