28 Years Later has completely negated the ending of 28 Weeks Later. The new installment in the franchise was helmed by original director Danny Boyle, reuniting with original screenwriter Alex Garland. It takes place in the Scottish Highlands and the coastal island of Lindisfarne, a community that is protected by only being connected to the mainland by a narrow, easily defended causeway. The cast of the standalone sequel includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-ᴀss), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Alfie Williams (His Dark Materials), Edvin Ryding (Young Royals), Jack O’Connell (Sinners), Erin Kellyman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave).

The long-awaited 2025 sequel is the first installment of an intended trilogy. While the third installment (for which Boyle and Garland are said to return) has not been funded yet, the upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (which was directed by Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta and written by Garland) is set to premiere on January 16, 2026. The trilogy comes on the heels of the original movie, 2002’s 28 Days Later, which starred Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Brendan Gleeson, and its own standalone sequel, 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, which starred Imogen Poots, Jeremy Renner, Idris Elba, and Rose Byrne.

28 Weeks Later’s Ending Suggested The Infected Spreading Across Europe

The Global Apocalypse Was About To Begin

The ending of 28 Weeks Later, which was the final scene of the franchise for more than a decade before the development of the new installments, implied that the Rage virus that devastated the British Isles in the first two movies had now begun spread across mainland Europe. The scene showed a group of Infected running wildly through a tunnel. While the shakycam made the exact location of the tunnel unclear, the final sH๏τ sees them bursting from the mouth of the tunnel and running across the Eiffel Tower plaza, implying that the Rage virus had taken root in Paris.

Although the Infected were beginning to die out during the ending of 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later saw the virus return. Siblings Tammy (Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) snuck out of the repatriation zone and discovered that their mother (Catherine McCormack) survived the initial Rage virus wave. However, she was an asymptomatic carrier, and the virus quickly began to spread around the compound. Although Tammy and Andy escaped and were rescued in a helicopter, Andy had been bitten at this point and was himself an asymptomatic carrier, so presumably the virus began to spread in Paris after his arrival.

28 Years Later Confirms The Rage Virus Never Spread That Far

It Essentially Retcons The 28 Weeks Later Ending

While the promotional materials leading up to the 28 Years Later release had already hinted that the ending of 28 Weeks Later was being walked back, it was explicitly confirmed during two moments in the movie. The first is the opening crawl, which specifically states that the virus had been driven back from continental Europe. The second is the arrival of shipwrecked Swedish soldier Erik (Ryding), who confirms that mainland Europe exists in the modern world, complete with the Internet, iPhones, and delivery drivers. The other nations of Europe also work together to maintain the quarantine of the British Isles.

How 28 Years Later’s Reveal Changes 28 Weeks Later’s Ending

The Change Makes Sense In The Franchise’s Universe

By the ending of 28 Years Later, the Rage virus remains very much a British phenomenon. However, the opening crawl confirms that the 28 Weeks Later ending did happen in-universe, even though it mᴀssively alters the implications of that moment. However, the salvation of continental Europe does make a certain amount of sense. While the Rage virus spreads quickly, by the end of Weeks, nations across the globe would have had half a year to study what took place on the British Isles and come up with contingency plans, making them more prepared to handle an outbreak than Britain was.