Released in 2002, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later remains one of the greatest zombie movies ever made. Set one month after The Rage Virus caused the complete collapse of civilisation in the UK, the post-apocalyptic survival thriller follows bicycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) after he wakes up from a coma and tries to make sense of the end of the world. A sequel (28 Weeks Later) followed in 2007, with fans speculating about a third film ever since.
Earlier this year, 28 Years Later was finally announced. Directed by Boyle and written by Alex Garland (the team behind the original), the threequel will also see the return of Murphy and kick-off a a new cinematic trilogy. Here’s everything we know so far…
Is there a release date for 28 Years Later?
Summer 2025
Cillian Murphy in ’28 Days Later’ – CREDIT: Sundance/WireImage/Getty Images
Sony has confirmed it has picked up 28 Years Later with the studio aiming to release the sequel on June 20, 2025. Filming began in May 2024 and production has only just wrapped, so delays are always possible but nothing has been announced so far. Currently, no trailer or teaser images have been shared, with the finer details still under wraps.
Who will star in 28 Years Later?
Cillian Murphy is back
Original star Cillian Murphy is back as Jim, and will take on producer duties too. Sony boss Jim Rothman teased he would come back “in a surprising way and in a way that grows [the character”.
Speaking to NME in 2022 about a potential return to the franchise, Murphy said: “I think there’s a problem with that, in that I’m 20 years older… but every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it. Because I showed it to my kids recently, some Halloween about four or five years ago, and they loved it. It really stands up, which is amazing for a film that’s 20 years old. So yeah, I love the idea and it’s very appealing to me.”
As it stands, Jim’s the only character from 28 Days Later confirmed to be returning while none of the cast from 28 Weeks Later seem to be involved. However Imogen Poots, who played Tammy in the sequel, has said she’d “jump” at the chance to revisit the character.
It has been confirmed that Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes will all star in 28 Years Later, while Jack O’Connell will have a supporting role before taking the lead in the reported sequel. “The original was so loved, so I’m trying not to think of that too hard. I’m not putting too much expectation on myself,” Comer told Elle, before revealing she was watching clips of Cheryl Cole to help her nail a Geordie accent for the film. No further details about their characters have been revealed so far.
What have creators said about 28 Years Later?
It’s a coming-of-age British zombie movie
A biological warning is projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover to promote the release of the film ’28 Weeks Later’. CREDIT: Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images
Speaking to NME in 2022, Boyle confirmed that Garland had written a script for a potential sequel to 28 Weeks Later called 28 Months Later with a “lovely idea” at the centre of it. “It feels like a very good time actually,” he continued. “It’s funny, I hadn’t thought about it until you just said it, and I remembered ‘Bang, this script!’ which is again set in England, very much about England.” It’s been reported that 28 Years Later is being filmed in England, so perhaps a reworked version of that script is being used for the long-awaited sequel.
“Probably the single most important thing is I had an idea. I had a specific idea that felt like a story worth telling,” Garland told Inverse about his return to the franchise.
While the original 28 Days Later was heavily inspired by sci-fi horror Day Of The Triffids, Garland has claimed he “ripped of” Ken Loach’s 1969 coming-of-age drama Kes for this sequel. “A very unexpected thing to rip off in a zombie movie [but] the script I’ve delivered and Kes both are focused around the experience of a young lad,” Garland explained to Alamo Drafthouse. The film will also explore “slightly more subtle things to do with landscape and humans and nature”.
“It’s to do with the passage of time, and thinking about what effect the passage of time would have,” Garland explained during an appearance on the ReelBlend podcast. “Is it what you would traditionally call a post-apocalyptic state? Or has something else begun to manifest? Time is really at the core of the engine of the film.”
“This is Danny at his best, combined with a very commercial genre, like we had with Edgar Wright and Baby Driver,” Rothman said of the film. “Sometimes when you put a real signature director into a commercial arena, it elevates it.”
Will there be a sequel?
Yes, at least two
28 Years Later is the spiritual successor to 28 Days Later, with Garland and Boyle only serving as executive producers on Weeks. It’s also set to kick-off a new trilogy. “A whole idea for a trilogy just sort of came – bing! – into my head,” Garland told the Guardian. “It makes me really question what creativity is. I feel like an observer, a lot of the time.”
No release dates have been shared for the two follow-up films, but it’s been reported that the first is due to begin filming later this year. Boyle is only expected to direct 28 Years Later, with Candyman and The Marvels director Nia DaCosta helming The Bone Temple.
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