Flynn was a US Army helicopter pilot with the 160th SOAR and close friends with Sergeant Doyle. He was among the Operation Rising Dawn force responsible for repatriating post-Original Outbreak London, before the Second Wave of Infection began. Though a dedicated family man and a loyal friend, Flynn was stricter than Doyle about following the chain of command.
Film canon[]
Pre-Second Wave[]
Flynn was an experienced helicopter pilot in the US Army, and a husband and father. Following the Original Outbreak of the Rage Virus in Great Britain, Flynn and Doyle were assigned to join the US-led NATO force under Brigadier General Stone's command that went to London to repatriate the city in Operation Rising Dawn.
28 Weeks Later[]
One night, twenty-eight weeks after the Original Outbreak's twenty-eighth day, Flynn was resting in his helicopter, admiring the picture of his family posted on the ceiling of his chopper, when Doyle jumped him, imitating an Infected. The next day, Flynn accompanied the military in search of the "stray puppies", Tammy and Andy Harris, after the latter two left the Green Zone to visit their house across the Tower Bridge, and watched from his helicopter as they were retrieved from their old home.
Flynn watches as Tammy and Andy are retrieved.
The next night, when a Second Outbreak of Infection started in District One and Code Red was executed, Flynn warned Doyle (unaware of the civilians he carried with him) of the approaching Air Cavalry arriving to firebomb District One, and instructed Doyle to meet him at Regent's Park. After Doyle reached the Park the next morning, Flynn headed in his chopper to Regent's Park and warned Doyle of surviving Infected approaching the Park.
When Flynn arrived at the park, he was shocked to see that Doyle also had civilians with him, and wanted Doyle to get rid of them as he would be shot down for trying to help civilians. While Doyle and Flynn argued over Doyle's instructions for Flynn to take the survivors across the English Channel, Sam grabbed onto Flynn's chopper's skid, begging that the man take him to safety. Flynn then briefly lost control of his helicopter, trying to shake Sam from the skid. Upon regaining control of the chopper, Flynn mow down the oncoming Infected by using the blades of his helicopter, dislodging Sam and giving Doyle and the others time to escape.
Flynn watches as District One is destroyed.
Flynn then told Doyle to meet him at Wembley Stadium, and landed his chopper there and waited for Doyle. When Tammy and Andy arrived alone without Doyle, Flynn threatened the two with his sub-machinegun, demanding where Doyle was. When Tammy informed him dead that she and Andy were the only survivors, Flynn reluctantly took them aboard his helicopter and flew them out of Britain and across the Channel.
Twenty-eight days later, Flynn's helicopter was lying disheveled and abandoned in a field, with its radio picking up a French call for help while Infected were rampaging through Paris. The status and fates of both Flynn and his young charges are unknown.
Other media[]
28 Days Later (comic series)[]
Two days after the second outbreak of Infection in London, a helicopter heavily implied to be Flynn's was reported crashing in or near Paris, and Infected began rampaging in the city on the ground at the same time.
Personality[]
Flynn is somewhat more serious verging on mildly cynical than Doyle who is a jokester, although he still appreciates Doyle's humour. He shared Doyle's and most of the rooftop snipers' dismay at the boredom of guardian District One, saying he'd prefer to be with his wife. Aside from being a devoted family man, Flynn was remarkably loyal to Doyle, going out of his way strictly to help Doyle stay alive during the Second Outbreak with the intention of picking him up by helicopter, and paying no direct contribution to the military's extermination efforts when they'd officially lost control. Though Flynn was visibly horrified by the firebombing of District One, and displayed a level of empathy towards Andy and Tammy (likely in spite of himself having children), Flynn refused to aid the children and the other survivors Doyle had rescued, insisting that Doyle abandon them rather than going the extra mile to airlift them across the Channel. After Flynn learned of Doyle's death when a disheveled Tammy and Andy arrived alone, he seemingly contemplated shooting the kids, but couldn't bring himself to do that nor to leave them alone to die.
Trivia[]
- Flynn's helicopter changes multiple times. He is initially shown falling asleep in an Aerospatiale Gazelle. When he is attempting to rescue Doyle, he is flying an Aerospatiale A-Star. When he lands in the stadium to rescue Doyle and the children, he is flying an Aerospatiale Gazelle again.
- According to the 28 Days Later comic series, which no longer appears to be considered canon to the movies in light of the 28 Years Later timeline; Flynn's helicopter apparently crashed two days after District One was destroyed. This would imply that Flynn, Tammy and Andy spent over a day flying across the English Channel.
- The tattoo on Flynn's arm that is visible as he starts the helicopter to leave the stadium is the USASOC patch minus the airborne tab. Such a tattoo on an aviator would imply that he was once a pilot for the Army's 160th SOAR.
- In an earlier script for 28 Weeks Later, Flynn is a reporter for the Herald Tribune.