By james art 28 years laterthe official return of the Danny Boyle-created zombie franchise is set to return in June 2025. And although the premiere is still a few months away, Ralph Fiennesone of the stars of the film, told all about the plot of the sequel.
In a conversation with IndieWire about his next film, the thriller about the Pope ConclaveFiennes shared a few details about 28 years later, the film that reunited Alex Garland and Danny Boylescreenwriter and director respectively. Apparently it jumps 28 years into the future, but Fiennes shared the following about the plot:
“Britain is 28 years into this horrible epidemic of infected people who are violent, rabid people 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 leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain.
But of course, around them hide in forests and hills and forests are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is someone who we might think would be weird and strange, but he’s actually a force for good.”
28 years later is the third installment of the franchise that started in 2002 when Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma in a deserted London. He discovers that humans have been infected with a virus that turns them into rabid and hungry zombies, but finding survivors gives him hope. the sequel 28 weeks laterdirected by Juan Carlos Fresnadio, and does not feature any of the characters from the first film, but instead focuses on the story of two siblings trying to escape their infected father. Part three brings back the team, including already Oscar-winning Murphy, who teams up with Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer.
As if that wasn’t enough to make us more excited for what’s to come next year, Fiennes also spilled a revelation about the future of 28 franchise. Logically, decades or centuries would come after years, but Fiennes didn’t exactly pay attention to the unit of time. Instead, he said this:
That’s three movies, two of which have been filmed.
Why 28 Days Later is such an important film for the horror genre
with 28 days laterBoyle not only revolutionized the zombie genre with extremely fast and mindless carnivores, but he proved that original horror could thrive during the remake craze of the early 2000s. His film also pioneered the realism and slow-burn drama that showed Jim as an average survivor with no aspiration to become a savior.
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It’s considered one of the best zombie movies ever made, and while it doesn’t match George A. Romero’s groundbreaking style of depicting the zombie apocalypse, Boyle achieved something special with 28 days later: he managed to capture the hopelessness of a dystopian world at a time when, regardless of genre, people (and Americans, mostly) always seemed to have a happy ending. 28 days later has an open and rather hopeful ending, but the doubt that remains forever cements the idea that “in an apocalypse we better not get Boyle’s zombies”.
- Date of issue
- June 20, 2025
- Main genre
- Horror