Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have all been cast in 28 Years Later — a sequel to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s acclaimed zombie thriller 28 Days Later.
Boyle and Garland will return as director and writer, respectively. Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy will not reprise his role from the 2002 horror film. Instead, the Oscar winner will return as an executive producer.
Film fans may remember that 28 Weeks Later, another sequel, was released in 2007. However, this was not written and directed by Garland and Boyle. The pair did, however, serve as executive producers.
Jodie Comer recently starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy and won an Emmy Award for her role in Killing Eve. Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be familiar to superhero fans as Marvel’s Quicksilver and as the titular in Kick-Ass. Oscar-nominated actor and Harry Potter star Ralph Fiennes is the last of the names confirmed for the new film.
Reports state that 28 Years Later is the beginning of a new trilogy of films set in this world.
28 Days Later is a gritty, post-apocalyptic, zombie film that gave audiences a window into what a zombie outbreak would look like in early 2000s Britain. A surprise hit at the box office, the film made £65m and revitalised the horror movie scene at the time of release.
The influence of 28 Days Later and its 2007 sequel can be seen in a ‘zombie boom’ across the media landscape; one that resulted in popular books and television series like The Walking Dead and World War Z.
The film was also a breakout hit for director Danny Boyle and star Cillian Murphy. Boyle would go on to direct Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and Yesterday. Murphy is best known for his roles as Dr. J Robert Oppenheimer in the Oscar-winning biopic as well as Tommy Shelby in acclaimed TV series Peaky Blinders.