The first trailer for Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s long-awaited zombie sequel 28 Years Later has dropped this morning.
The third installment in the 28 Days Later franchise sees Boyle and Garland return to their respective roles in the franchise as director and writer, having served as executive producers on Juan Carlos Fersnadillo’s 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later.
The film is led by franchise newcomers Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes, who are seen throughout the creepy trailer fighting off zombies. Though original star Cillian Murphy had been reported to be reprising his role as Jim in addition to being an executive producer, he is apparently absent from the trailer and is not listed as a cast member in the promotional material.
The new trailer does, however, feature a zombie that some on social media are already speculating bears a resemblance to Murphy’s character from the first film, Jim, although this is so far unconfirmed.
The film’s official synopsis reads: “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.”
28 Years Later will serve as the first in a trilogy of sequel films spearheaded by Boyle and Garland. It shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later II: The Bone Temple, the second film in the trilogy, directed by Nia DaCosta.
The film was shot by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle using an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Andrew MacDonald and Peter Rice will serve as producers alongside Garland and Boyle. 28 Years Later is produced by Columbia Pictures in association with BFI, DNA Films, and Decibel Films. The film will be released June 20, 2025.
