GET UP TO SPEED ON… 28 YEARS LATER
IT’S FINALLY BACK FROM THE DEAD
Some 22 years after 28 Days Later proved a monster horror hit (and 17 years since its sequel 28 Weeks Later), Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are reuniting to revive the franchise with a 28 Years Later trilogy. Rumours of a continuation of the story have been kicking around since 2007, but Garland was reluctant to commit until the right idea materialised. “I resisted it for a long time because there were things about 28 Weeks that bugged me,” he said in 2023. “I just thought, ‘Fuck that. I’d rather try to write a different story in a different world.’” Now, Boyle will direct the Garlandwritten first film in this broader trilogy, while The Marvels’ Nia DaCosta is in talks to shoot the second. Both will reportedly be shot back-to-back later this year.
IT’S GOT A KILLER CAST
Cillian Murphy, who got his big career break as bike courier Jim in the original film, will return for the sequel as both executive producer and in front of the camera, but in “a surprising way and in a way that grows”, according to Sony chairman Tom Rothman. Bringing additional star power to the first film in the trilogy will be Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, currently in undisclosed roles.
IT’S TACKLING BIG THEMES
28 Weeks Later (spoilers ahead!) ended on an almighty cliffhanger, with the US army losing control of London’s safe zone and the rage virus reaching mainland Europe. Yet Garland seems more focused on what’s been left behind in the trilogy. “It’s to do with the passa
