28 Years Later is a return to the unforgettable post-apocalyptic landscape created by writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle. It comes to theaters 17 years after the last film in the franchise, 28 Weeks Later, but Garland and Boyle haven’t worked on the franchise since the first film released in 2003. In short, both anticipation and expectations are high.
Promisingly, the 28 Years Later cast is stacked with action stars, fan favorites, and Oscar nominees alike. The leading cast includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-ᴀss, Bullet Train), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), and Alfie Williams (His Dark Materials) as post-apocalyptic survivors Jamie, Isla, and Spike, respectively. Also featured in the film are Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) and Jack O’Connell (Rogue Heroes).
ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley spoke with Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Alfie Williams about their work on 28 Years Later. They discussed the evolution of the franchise’s signature Rage virus and what is in store for their characters in this continuation of the story. If you’re rusty, check out ScreenRant’s 28 Years Later franchise recap before the film, and be sure to return after the movie for a spoiler-filled chat with the cast and creators.
Meet 28 Years Later’s Spike & Isla
The Mother/Son Duo Are Crucial To The Story
28 Years Later appears to introduce a fully post-apocalyptic society, which is a first for a franchise that has, up to now, seen its characters trying to find some semblance of the world before the first Rage virus outbreak. Audiences explore this society in part through the story of Spike, a teenager who is notable for his unique outlook on the world. When asked where Spike’s humanity comes from, Alfie Williams said, “I think it’s the childlike wonder that he still has because he’s been sheltered all his life.”
“It’s the fear of not wanting to become a ruthless killer. He wants to still have some humanity.”
On the topic of humanity, Spike’s mother Isla, played by Jodie Comer, is in a very vulnerable and human state in much of the film, as she struggles with a debilitating and mysterious illness. Even so, there are moments in the movie that hint of a fire within her. “I think there is a lot of rage within her,” Jodie Comer said.
The actor continued, sharing, “I think she’s been kind of confined and very much isolated, and I think there is a really real, deep frustration that is bubbling away under her because she doesn’t have all the answers, and he can’t be there for her son and her family in the way that she probably has known how to be for a long time. She shouldn’t be underestimated.”
How The Rage Virus Makes 28 Years Later Unique
“These Are Not Monsters”
28 Days Later and its sequels are often thought of as zombie movies, but director Danny Boyle’s intention behind the films is deeper than that. In his words, “The premise has always been–from the moment Cillian, in the first film, appears to be infected in his rage at the end to save the girls–there’s always been this crossover. It’s making it clear that these are not monsters. It is something that exists within us all and that we’re all capable of, and it’s a condition that we can all end up with.”
“There was always that idea throughout,” Boyle said, continuing, “You even see Isla, who’s the most unlikely character to be exhibiting it. She has got it within her at [one] moment. So, it was always something that is shared amongst us all, and that’s one of the things that keeps the dynamic alive rather than it just being monsters, creatures from outer space, or the reanimated ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.”
How Alex Garland’s Directorial Success Changed His Approach As A Screenwriter
“‘I’m Just Going To Give Danny Total Space’”
28 Days Later was a huge break for Alex Garland, who wrote the film but had not yet directed any of his own. In the decades since, Garland has become a prolific and acclaimed director known for visually and thematically arresting films like Ex Machina and Civil War. When asked if his directorial efforts have altered how he thinks about screenwriting, the filmmaker said “[It has] quite a lot, I think. My sense of what a director did while I was working on 28 days was extremely hazy.”
“I could see Danny doing stuff, but what that stuff meant, why it happened, or why it happened in the way it happened was really quite mysterious to me.”
“It remained that way,” Garland said, “until I started directing, and then suddenly you understand a different perspective on the job. And I think the key difference was that I thought, ‘I’m going to write this script, I’m going to hand it over, and I’m going to step back,’ because, as a director, I would not want somebody on set who was in effect saying, ‘No, not like that, like this.’”
“So,” he continued, “I thought ‘I’m just going to give Danny total space,’ and I think I didn’t do that with 28 Days Later because I didn’t understand what the spaces were. I didn’t know where the edges of the spaces were, I suppose. And I think that would be a big difference.”
28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20.
