"28 Years Later" New Trailer: Danny Boyle and Alex Garland Return to Explore the Long-Term Effects of the Zombie Apocalypse, Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, and Jodie Comer

Survivors are now scavengers and survivalists in this long-awaited sequel that explores the ongoing effects of a world ravaged by the infected.

Apr 17, 2025

There’s no secret that horror master George A. Romero is considered the filmmaker who singlehandedly revolutionized the zombie genre with his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. Before that, zombies were mostly associated with voodoo folklore—a Haitian black magic spell that could resurrect corpses at the hands of an evil voodoo master. Romero, however, redefined the undead, turning them into a terrifying symbol of societal collapse and existential dread. Essentially, what we now think of as the zombie genre came straight from the mind of Romero, and every zombie film that came after his iconic Dead film series owes a great deal of debt to Romero’s groundbreaking vision.

But here’s the thing. When director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland released their equally groundbreaking zombie film 28 Days Later back in 2002, the zombie genre was emerging from its ‘90s campy comedy phase. To have someone come back from the dead usually meant you were watching a horror comedy like Idle Hands, My Boyfriend's Back, or Death Becomes Her.

And what Boyle and Garland were able to do with 28 Days Later was bring the zombie genre back to its terrifying roots, showing once again that the undead are nothing to laugh at—a sauntering rotting corpse is something to scream at and run from, if you’re lucky.

But Boyle and Garland didn’t just repeat what Romero had done decades prior. They took the genre in a bold new direction, introducing the concept of “infected” zombies with the ability to run faster and act more ravenous, intensifying the fear and urgency of the apocalypse.

Boyle also added new striking imagery to the genre. Picture Cillian Murphy, having just been awakened from a coma, walking down the empty streets of London, wandering with a puzzled look on his face, wondering where everyone has gone. It’s now an iconic sequence and has become a part of the cinematic lexicon.

Well, it’s a little more than two decades later, and director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have reunited once more to scare the living crap out of moviegoers. With 28 Years Later, Boyle and Garland are launching a new zombie trilogy. While the original film came out of the immediate post-9/11 panic and shock of a world turned upside down, this new installment promises to push the franchise even further. One could presume this new zombie world is more brutal and unforgiving than ever, and Boyle and Garland are ready to explore just how far humanity can be pushed after living with 28 years of the relentless apocalypse.

It seems survivors have become more primal, living in barricaded communities. These villagers protect themselves with bow and arrows, taking up patrolling shifts around the outer perimeter and eliminating any infected they encounter. They have become a community of strict survivalists and scavengers, secluding themselves from the outside world.

If 28 Days Later was a parable of the post-9/11 era, where people were led to believe that the world as they knew it had irrevocably changed overnight and terror secretly lived among us, then 28 Years Later seems to explore the long-term effects of that fear and paranoia. It could also be touching on today’s issues of tribalism and the way societies fracture into isolated, self-preserving groups, each viewing the other as a threat in an increasingly divided world.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, and Jodie Comer lead the cast of this horror sequel. Here, Taylor-Johnson plays Jamie, a scavenger from an island village community in Northern England, while Comer plays Isla, Jamie’s pregnant wife. They have a 12-year-old son, Spike (played by Alfie Williams). Fiennes takes on the role of Dr. Kelson, a battle-scarred survivor who has seen more than his fair share of horrors over the years.

The ensemble cast also includes Jack O'Connell, Erin Kellyman, Edvin Ryding, and Emma Laird, with zombie performer Angus Neill as the “Emaciated Infected.”

Neill's appearance in the first 28 Years Later trailer, released four months ago, created quite a stir online as many thought he resembled Cillian Murphy, leading to speculation that Murphy's character, Jim, had ended up as one of the undead. Not the case, though. But speaking of Murphy, he is expected to return to the franchise—just not in 28 Years Later. Instead, his return may come later in the proceeding installments. Murphy, nevertheless, is an executive producer.

Also returning to the franchise is acclaimed British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who has frequently collaborated with director Danny Boyle and was the cinematographer behind 28 Days Later, which was shot entirely on early digital video. As a nod to that handheld, lo-fi technique, Dod Mantle shot parts of the new movie with an iPhone 15 Pro Max, incorporating drones and other digital cameras to mirror the aesthetic of the original.

To be quite candid, upon hearing the announcement that Boyle and Garland were reuniting for a new 28 Days Later sequel, we were filled with nervousness and trepidation. We loved the original so much, why risk messing things up? And yes, we know the producers made 28 Weeks Later, which wasn't a bad sequel at all. But it's hard to top the original.

But after watching the new full trailer for 28 Years Later, well, it's hard not to get excited for what may be in store. It's quite effective in reigniting that same sense of dread and urgency that made the original so unforgettable. And it doesn't hurt that they once again used Rudyard Kipling's 1903 poem “Boots” to underline the chaos of conflict and the relentless march toward destruction.

28 Years Later will be coming to theaters on June 20th. So, brace yourself for a dead summer like no other.

Official Synopsis:

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.