"There Are Many Kinds of Death" in the Intense New Trailer for Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's '28 Years Later'
Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes, this British zombie franchise is back — 23 years since the first film and 18 since its initial sequel.
Danny Boyle directs. Alex Garland penned the screenplay. Oppenheimer Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy isn't listed among the cast, but is credited as an executive producer. In the latter's place on-screen, Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nosferatu), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Jack O'Connell (Sinners) and Alfie Williams (His Dark Materials) are all tasked with navigating the remnants of a virus-ravaged world. That's the recipe behind 28 Years Later, and it looks set to unsettle — at least if the initial trailer from late 2024 and the just-dropped new sneak peek are anything to go on.
Here, the zombie apocalypse has evolved. When just 28 days had passed, survivors faced a nightmare. Little had improved when 28 weeks had gone by. Now, following 28 years of chaos, life has been forced to find a new normality after dealing with the aftermath of a society decimated by a horrific infection for a hefty period.
The setup this time around: almost three decades after the rage virus initially seeped through humanity after escaping from a biological weapons laboratory, some survivors have etched out an existence on a small island. Elsewhere, quarantine remains a key way of tackling the infection. With that starting point — and with unease dripping through both trailers so far, complete with stunning imagery — expect Boyle (Yesterday) and Garland (Warfare) to dig into the terrors that linger when two of the island's residents venture over to the mainland.
Although 2030 will mark 28 years since viewers were treated to one of the best zombie movies ever, aka the Boyle-helmed, Garland-written 28 Days Later, the third flick in the same franchise — and second with Boyle behind the lens and Garland on scripting duties — arrives after 23 years. 28 Years Later was first confirmed at the beginning of 2024, and will hit cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 19, 2025.
The series' initial film has already spawned one follow-up thanks to 2007's 28 Weeks Later, but Boyle didn't direct it. Garland, who also penned Sunshine for Boyle, then hopped behind the camera himself with Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men, Civil War, Warfare and TV series Devs, wasn't involved with 28 Weeks Later, either. Their return restarts the saga, kicking off a new trilogy. The franchise's fourth feature 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple has already been shot, in fact, with Candyman and The Marvels' Nia DaCosta directing.
Boyle and Garland's first proper collaboration after Boyle adapted Garland's best-selling novel The Beach for the big screen two years prior, 28 Days Later still ranks among the best work on either's resume. It's the same on Murphy's as well, even if it didn't win him any of Hollywood's top shiny trophies for playing a bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma in a deserted hospital 28 days after an outbreak changed the world forever.
And yes, the series is missing a 28 Months Later instalment. It was talked about for years, but the time has now passed unless the new trilogy includes a flick set between 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later.
Check out the latest trailer for 28 Years Later below:
28 Years Later releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 19, 2025.
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