28 Years Later is Taking the Franchise in an Intriguing New Direction

It’s been decades since Danny Boyle and Alex Garland redefined the zombie genre with 28 Days Later, but they’re gearing up to try again. The duo have reteamed to helm a sequel trilogy, with the franchise's original star, Cillian Murphy, reprising his role as a zombie apocalypse survivor. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes will co-star in the “28 Years Later” trilogy, and the first two installments are well underway.

In a recent interview with IndieWire, Fiennes confirmed that two of the three films have already been shot. Boyle himself directed 28 Years Later, while Marvel alum Nia DaCosta helmed its follow-up, tentatively titled 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple. Specific details about the trilogy have been locked down tight, but Fiennes also teased the plot of the first two films in his conversation with IndieWire.

In 28 Years Later, Britain has been transformed by a bloodborne disease known as the Rage Virus, with “a few pockets of uninfected communities” strewn across the countryside. Per Fiennes, the trilogy follows “a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother. 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.”

Fiennes will reportedly play the doctor, though he kept his co-stars’ respective roles under wraps. It’ll be interesting to see how this narrative expands the series’ world, especially given what we know (or think we know) about the saga so far. Back in 2007, 28 Weeks Later took the series in a more action-oriented direction, and this could potentially slow it down and make it a little moodier again.

According to Sony chairman Tom Rothman, 28 Years Later is “not in any way a literal sequel,” which suggests the trilogy could take the franchise in an entirely new direction. Whether that includes a retcon of past events, or even a full-on reboot, remains to be seen, but the first film in the trilogy is set to hit theaters in June 2025, so official answers could be just around the corner.

With The Bone Temple also in post-production, it may not be that long before that film’s ready to go, either. Sony is clearly fast-tracking production on the trilogy, which bodes well for zombie fans. If the studio has its way, we could get each 28 Years Later film in quick succession, which will be a treat as long as their quality doesn’t suffer.