Over two decades after the release of the genre-defining zombie film 28 Days Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are returning to the realm of horror with the long-awaited 28 Years Later. Essentially helping to jump-start the zombie craze of the 2000s, 28 Days Later follows an average bicycle courier named Jim (Cillian Murphy) who awakens from a month-long coma to find all of London has been besieged by a zombie rage virus. Eschewing the tropes of earlier zombie media, the walkers of 28 Days Later were faster, meaner, and more frightening than their predecessors.

Though Garland and Boyle were only involved peripherally, a sequel was released in 2007 enтιтled 28 Weeks Later which continued the post-apocalyptic story and was well-received. Meanwhile, the 28 Days Later franchise helped to bring the zombie film back into vogue, and is directly responsible for movies like the Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ remake, spoofs like Shaun of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, and the ongoing Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ universe. Now, Boyle and Garland are returning to deliver even more terror in 28 Years Later, and the creative duo have big plans for an extended sequel series.

28 Years Later Latest News

Cillian Murphy Won’t Be In 28 Years Later & Other Details Are Revealed

Even though the movie has already dropped a trailer, new details about the cast of 28 Years Later are still being revealed, including that Cillian Murphy won’t be in the horror sequel. Despite the fact that previous reports stated he’d be in the film (and the fact that he’s a listed producer), Murphy won’t be playing the role of Jim in 28 Years Later. However, producer Andrew Macdonald did confirm that Murphy could appear in the upcoming sequel, 28 Years Later: Bone Temple.

Read what Macdonald had to say here:

[On] this, we wanted him to be involved and he wanted to be involved. He is not in the first film, but I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line. He’s involved at the moment as an executive producer and I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy.

Other information about the cast was released simultaneously, and new details about Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer’s characters have been revealed. Taylor-Johnson and Comer play a married couple who live in the community of Holy Island. Together they raise their son, Spike (Alfie Williams), whose rite-of-pᴀssage trip to the UK mainland is essentially the impetus for the movie’s main plot.

Danny Boyle added more details, saying:

It’s a closed and necessarily very тιԍнт community. There are very strict defense laws, obviously, to survive that long in what is effectively an ongoing hostile environment. They’ve created a successful community, as they see it.

28 Years Later Release Date

The Zombie Franchise Returns In 2025

With many updates coming in the months since the project was formally announced, 28 Years Later has officially set a release date as well. Though it will take a while to arrive, the long-awaited zombie threequel is slated to premiere on June 20, 2025. The summer release slot is befitting a potential blockbuster, and there have been no announcements regarding the release dates of movies two and three in the planned trilogy.

28 Years Later Cast Details

Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Jodie Comer Star

The cast of 28 Years Later is beginning to take shape, though it is largely shrouded in mystery as well. Cillian Murphy starred in 28 Days Later and though his character survived, Jim was absent in the first sequel. Though he’s attached as a producer, Murphy won’t appear in 28 Years Later, though the door is open for him to appear in the sequels. New cast members include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who will co-star alongside Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes.

Comer and Taylor-Johnson play a married couple, Isla and Jamie, who are raising their son, Spike (played by Alfie Williams). Jack O’Connell plays cult leader Sir Jimmy Crystal, and he will appear in all three movies in the planned trilogy. Fiennes’ character, Dr. Kelson, is still largely shrouded in mystery, but he’s described as a survivor of the outbreak. From his appearance in the trailer, it seems as if Kelson has adapted to the post-apocalyptic world for better or worse.

Erin Kellyman is set to play a character named Jimmy Ink, but no further details are known. Edvin Ryding will play Swedish NATO soldier E. Sundqvist who finds his way to the English mainland during his patrols. It’s currently unclear how Sundqvist factors into the plot, but the existence of NATO reveals there is still some form of government in the world beyond.

The known cast of 28 Years Later includes:

Actor	28 Years Later Role
Aaron Taylor-Johnson	Jamie
Jodie Comer	Isla
Ralph Fiennes	Dr. Kelson
Jack O’Connell	Sir Jimmy Crystal
Erin Kellyman	Jimmy Ink
Edvin Ryding	E. Sundqvist
Alfie Williams	Spike
Geoffrey Newland	Unknown
Joe Blakemore	Unknown
Kim Allan	Unknown

28 Years Later Story Details

Three Decades Of The Rage Virus

Though there were few details about the sequel throughout its production phase, the plot of 28 Years Later has now been revealed. With the 28 Days Later virus once again at the forefront of the story, the film catches up with the remnants of human society in the 30 years since the outbreak. A тιԍнт-knit community lives in isolation off the coast of England, where they avoid the ravages of the zombie plague that is still on the mainland. Isla and Jamie raise their children on the island, and their son Spike must venture forth as something of a rite of pᴀssage.

This takes them to the mainland where they come face to face with the results of three decades of rage virus. While there’s still a lot still unknown about the plot, there are quite a few details about where 28 Years Later fits into the canon. According to Andrew Macdonald, Alex Garland, and Danny Boyle, Britain has “paused” for the last 30 years, and was quarantined when the rage virus broke out. Even as the rest of the world moved on, Britain has become an isolated island.

The trio of Macdonald, Garland, and Boyle insist that the story of 28 Years Later doesn’t ignore the ending of 28 Weeks Later where the virus is seen taking over Paris, but it isn’t known what happened immediately after. If England is the only country isolated, it could be that France got the virus under control before it could take over the European mainland. With the virus stuck in England, the burgeoning trilogy could explore what happens when it goes global.

28 Years Later Trailer

Watch The Trailers Below

In December 2024, a teaser for 28 Years Later was revealed, though it was rather scant on details. The quick teaser features a mostly black screen with occasional flashes of images of an upside down skull and the biohazard symbol. The teaser’s only sound is the Morse code for the word “Tuesday,” which suggests the reveal of a larger trailer.

A few days after the teaser dropped, the full trailer for 28 Years Later finally arrived along with a slew of interesting story details. After recapping the origins of the rage virus, the trailer then jumps forward to show what happened more than 10,000 days later. With a strict quarantine enforced, some survivors have created a new society on a heavily-fortified island. However, when a few residents decide to venture to the mainland, they discover a world of pure terror.