Danny Boyle put his stamp on the zombie movies with the classic genre entry 28 Days Later in the early 2000s. Now, more than 20 years later from the original (and nearly 20 from the last entry in the franchise), the director is back to show where things are in the dystopian England that he created with the 2025 new movie.
28 Days Later premiered in 2002 to universal acclaim (“Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), quickly enshrined as one of the better zombie movies ever made. A sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was then released in 2007. While missing Boyle and star Cillian Murphy, the movie was still well received (“Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes). But Boyle is returning to the franchise with this latest movie, so what can fans expect?
We’ve got everything you need to know about 28 Years Later directly below.
28 Years Later release date
28 Years Later premieres on June 20, 2025, exclusively in movie theaters in the US, UK and elsewhere around the world.
That will make the movie one of the most anticipated summer blockbusters of the year, alongside Marvel entries Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as well as Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, F1, M3GAN 2.0, Jurassic World Rebirth and Superman.
28 Years Later cast
A new group of actors are going to lead this new entry to the franchise, namely Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes.
Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to big franchises, having starred in Kick-Ass, Godzilla, Avengers: Age of Ultron and has been speculated as a leading contender to be the next James Bond. Most recently he has starred in The Fall Guy and Nosferatu. We don’t know his character’s name in 28 Years Later at this time, but the trailer reveals that he is one of the main survivors that the story focuses on.
Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes are also expected to be among the main group of survivors featured in the movie. Comer, best known for her role in Killing Eve, Free Guy and The Last Duel, was last seen in The Bikeriders. Fiennes, meanwhile, is a two-time Oscar-nominated actor (perhaps three-time very soon for his performance in Conclave), also of course known for playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies.
Other confirmed members of the cast include Jack O’Connell (Rogue Heroes) and Alfie Williams (His Dark Materials).
Original franchise star Cillian Murphy has been reported as returning to the franchise with this latest edition, but he is not mentioned among the credited actors in promo materials (he is listed as an executive producer). However, the internet was abuzz as the 28 Years Later trailer, which you can watch below, appears to feature a zombie that looks a lot like Murphy. Could his character Jim finally have succumbed to the virus?
28 Years Later plot
In addition to Boyle returning to the director’s chair, original screenwriter Alex Garland returned to write 28 Years Later. This marks the third time that Garland and Boyle have worked closely together, though Boyle adapted one of Garland’s books, The Beach, as well. Garland is also an Oscar-nominated writer for Ex Machina, while his other credits include Annihilation, Men and Civil War.
Here is the official synopsis for 28 Years Later:
“Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle and Academy Award-nominated writer Alex Garland reunite for 28 Years Later, a terrifying new story set in the world created by 28 Days Later. It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such 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.”
28 Years Later trailer
Watch the trailer for 28 Years Later right here:
Danny Boyle movies
Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director for Slumdog Millionaire, got his start on UK television in the late 1980s before making the jump to features, breaking out with Trainspotting. It’s been an eclectic career since then. See for yourself with the full list of Boyle’s feature movie directing credits:
- Shallow Grave (1994)
- Trainspotting (1996)
- A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
- The Beach (2000)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- Millions (2004)
- Sunshine (2007)
- Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- 127 Hours (2010)
- Trance (2013)
- Steve Jobs (2015)
- T2 Trainspotting (2017)
- Yesterday (2019)
28 Years Later behind the scenes
28 Years Later is the first of a planned trilogy of new movies set in the zombie universe that Boyle and Garland have created. In fact, according to reports, the second entry — 28 Years Later II: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta — was shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later.
Another behind-the-scenes fun fact being reported is that the movie was shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max. This is akin to the first movie, 28 Days Later, being shot in part on a Canon XL-1, a digital camcorder.
If you’re curious where the movie was shot, reports indicate that portions of 28 Years Later were filmed in Bradford in West Yorkshire, England.
Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Releasing are the big studios behind 28 Years Later, made in association with Decibel Films, DNA Films and the British Film Institute.
