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28 Years Later

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Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
Screenplay by: N/A
Produced by: Danny Boyle
Alex Garland
Andrew Macdonald
Peter Rice
Bernie Bellew
Starring: Cillian Murphy
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Jodie Comer
Ralph Fiennes
Jack O'Connell
Erin Kellyman
Edvin Ryding
Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Edited by: Jon Harris
Music by: Young Fathers
Production company(s): Columbia Pictures
DNA Films
BFI
Decibel Films
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date(s): June 20, 2025
Running time: N/A
Country(s): United Kingdom
United States
Language: English
Budget: $75 million
Box office: N/A
"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."
―Official plot summary[[src]]

28 Years Later is a 2025 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle, from a screenplay co-written with Alex Garland. It is the sequel to 2002's 28 Days Later and 2007's 28 Weeks Later, and is the third installment overall in the 28 Days Later film franchise. Produced by Columbia Pictures, it marks the respective return of Boyle and Garland as director and writer, following the duo's marginalized roles as executive producers on 28 Weeks Later. Cillian Murphy reprises his role of Jim from 28 Days Later, with additional cast members including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Erin Kellyman, and Edvin Ryding.

The film began development in 2007, following the release of 28 Weeks Later, but progress stalled due to the filmmakers' commitments to other projects. In January 2015, following nearly a decade of development hell, writer Garland addressed the project's status, confirming that while progress had stalled, serious discussions were underway behind the scenes to produce the film. He reiterated that development was ongoing, stating that the script, tentatively titled 28 Months Later, was being rewritten. In June 2019, Boyle confirmed that he and Garland had been actively working on the third installment. Casting was confirmed in April 2024, along with Murphy's return as Jim. Filming began in May and wrapped in July.

28 Years Later is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada on June 20, 2025, under distribution by Sony Pictures Releasing, as the first installment of a new trilogy. A sequel, 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, will be directed by Nia DaCosta and co-written by Boyle and Garland.

Synopsis

During the initial outbreak of the Rage virus, a young boy named Jimmy is attacked in the Scottish Highlands by his infected family. Running to a nearby church, Jimmy pleads with his father to help him escape. His father gives Jimmy a crucifix necklace before being overwhelmed by infected allowing Jimmy to escape.

Twenty-eight years later Great Britain has been placed under quarantine and cut off from the rest of the world. One community of survivors live on Lindisfarne Island, a safe zone separated from the mainland by a single heavily-defended tidal causeway. Among them are Jamie, a scavenger, his wife Isla, and their 12-year-old son Spike. Isla is afflicted with memory loss, confusion, frequent headaches, and nosebleeds—the cause of which is unknown.

As part of Spike's coming-of-age initiation, he and his father journey to the mainland to hunt infected. They soon encounter an Alpha, an infected individual that has evolved to be larger and smarter than the others, and take refuge in an abandoned cottage. While staying the night, they observe a distant bonfire. Following a chase across the causeway by another Alpha, they narrowly return to the village. Spike learns that the bonfire was created by Ian Kelson, a mysterious physician and survivor of the outbreak, whom the villagers avoid after apparently witnessing him ritualistically burning bodies. Growing increasingly disillusioned by his father's recklessness, Spike decides to sneak away to the mainland, bringing with him his mother in the hopes that Kelson can cure her.

The pair are attacked by a group of infected before being rescued by Erik, the lone survivor of a shipwrecked Swedish Naval patrol. They discover a pregnant infected woman in labor, who gives birth to an uninfected newborn. Erik shoots the infected mother and is prepared to kill the child before another Alpha appears and tears his head off. The Alpha chases the pair until it is tranquilized with a morphine-laced blowdart fired by Kelson. He takes Spike, Isla, and the newborn to his refuge, a vast, elaborate temple made from the sterilized bones of infected and uninfected corpses. Upon examining Isla, Kelson surmises that she has terminal cancer that has metastasized to the breasts and brain, and is unable to cure her. Isla and Spike tearfully bid each other goodbye before Kelson peacefully euthanizes Isla with morphine darts at her request. Kelson gives Isla’s sterilised skull to Spike, who chooses to climb to the top of the temple and lay the skull at the summit.

After Kelson and Spike narrowly escape the reawakened Alpha, Spike decides to stay behind and leaves the newborn behind at the gate of the village with a note to Jamie before setting off into the heart of the mainland. Realizing what Spike’s done, Jamie desperately tries to go after him but is unable to due to the high tide. While evading a group of infected, Spike is suddenly rescued by a cult of survivors, led by a man calling himself Jimmy who is seen wearing a crucifix necklace.

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