Summary
As details about the cast of Danny Boyle’s highly-anticipated horror sequel28 Years Lateremerge, concerns that the franchise will waste a cliffhanger with incredible potential from earlier in the series.Details for28 Years Laterare few and far between, with the movie not expected to release until June 20th, 2025, but the movie’s title suggests that the film will deal with the long-term consequences of the rage virus that wiped out civilized society in Great Britain over the course of the first two movies. Original franchise star, Academy Award winnerCillian Murphy, is expected to return.
28 Years Lateris expected to kick off a new trilogy of films, and with the massive time jump between28 Weeks Laterand28 Years Later, it makes sense that the franchise will introduce a new crop of high-profile stars to carry the story. However, there is one common feature between all the known actors that provides some hints as to where the story of28 Years Laterwill take place.If the cast is any indication, the franchise will leave a key cliffhanger from one of the earlier movies unresolved.
Cillian Murphy’s 28 Years Later Return Was Perfectly Set Up By This Story 15 Years Ago
How 28 Years Later will unfold Jim’s arc remains unknown, but a 15-year-old story already set up the starting point for the Cillian Murphy character.
28 Years Later’s British Cast Ruins The Previous Paris Ending
The actors share one common characteristic
In addition to Cillian Murphy,28 Years Laterhas already announced a number of high-profile stars who will be featured in at least the first film of the new trilogy, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes.The common thread between all the announced actors is that they are all British, many of them famously so (like Fiennes). All are talented enough and capable of using an accent, but their common background indicates that28 Years Laterwill return to Great Britain once again.
Erin Kellyman
Unknown
If that is the case, then the franchise will waste a cliffhanger with sky-high potential. The end of28 Weeks Laterfeatured the terrifying sight of a horde of Infected emerging from a Paris Metro station, indicating thatthe virus had spread to mainland Europe. That ending opened up an endless number of possibilities for the franchise as it moves forward, and speculation about a third movie in the franchise typically assumed that the franchise would at last leave the British Isles and spread to the entire world.
28 Years Later Should Expand Beyond The UK
Two movies have already explored Great Britain
The rage virus infecting the world at large remains the most intriguing direction for the franchise to head. With writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle returning to the franchise, there is no doubt that they could weave another gripping story around the fabric of England and English culture, but that simply isn’t the most entertaining concept given that two movies have already explored it.Examining the repercussions of the rage virus having completely broken European society, and perhaps spreading to Asia and Africa as well, is the best use of the massive time jump that will occur.
How 28 Years Later Can Move Beyond The UK, Despite The Cast
The British cast members could be refugees
While there is no hiding the obviously British actors and actresses, their casting doesn’t necessarily mean that the franchise will be locked into the United Kingdom once again. After 28 years, it would stand to reason that the UK would be borderline uninhabitable, as ground zero for the rage virus itself and the site of many destructive tactics for containment, like the firebombing shown in28 Weeks Later.The new stars of the franchise could be refugees from the UK, and perhaps have been among the few citizens to escape the initial outbreak when it hit.
28 Years Laterand its as-yet-unnamed sequel will be shot back-to-back, with28 Days Laterdirector Danny Boyle directing the first andCandymandirector Nia DaCosta directing the second.
The new cast could also be survivors of the horrors of the UK, and have valuable survival skills and intimate knowledge of how the Infected operate, just as Selena was when Jim first met her in28 Days Later. With a significant time jump, it will be interesting to see how the virus itself still impacts the world 28 years later. In the original movie, the Infected were shown starving to death in roughly the same time frame it would take a normal person to succumb to hunger.
28 Years Laterand the subsequent sequels could deal withhow society has rebuilt itself in the wake of the apocalyptic virus, with normal people as the monsters as opposed to the Infected. It’s familiar territory already covered by shows likeThe Walking DeadandThe Last of Us, but in the hands of Alex Garland and Danny Boyle there could be new ground to be discovered. No matter what direction the franchise heads, abandoning the Paris cliffhanger in favor of a return to the UK seems like a mistake for28 Years Later.
28 Years Later
Cast
28 Years Later follows a group of survivors living on an isolated island nearly three decades after the rage virus outbreak. Venturing into the quarantine zone of the mainland, they uncover dangerous secrets and transformations among both the infected and other surviving factions.
