1/ This is the first of three films, director Danny Boyle has called it a genuine trilogy, comparing it to epic 3 part stories like ‘Star Wars’ & ‘Lord Of The Rings’ in terms of the scale & ambition.`
2/ When ’28 Days Later’ debuted in 2002, it didn’t just revive the zombie genre—it reinvented it. Danny Boyle’s blend of gritty realism, digital video aesthetics, and relentless pacing inspired a generation of filmmakers & influenced countless new zombie movies & TV shows.
3/ After successfully adepting his novel ‘The Beach’, writer Alex Garland pitched the idea for ‘28 Days Later’ to producers over pizza. Who knew zombies and mozzarella made such a killer combo?
4/ ’28 Days Later’ was made on a tiny budget of $8.4 million and grossed over $85 million, earning more than 10 times its cost.
5/ Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo took the reins for the 2007 sequel ’28 Weeks Later’, while Garland & Boyle stayed in the shadows as producers, both return for ’28 Years Later’.
6/ One reason ’28 Years Later’ took so long to make? Writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle had their own apocalypse while making ‘Sunshine’, Garland threatened to walk if Boyle added a prologue, saying “If you f**king put that in the film, I’m off.” Turns out, the rage virus wasn’t the only thing spreading!
7/ Garland wrote an apology to Boyle saying ‘I’m sorry we had such a miserable time together and I hope you have a much better time on the next film’. Luckily Boyle did have a better time on his next film, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ went on to an Oscar!
8/ The duo buried the hatchet when Garland directed his own film ‘Ex Machina’ in 2014, he reached out to Boyle to find out what the seasoned director thought of his movie, and very soon they were discussing this sequel.
9/ During the Covid lockdown, ‘28 Days Later’ went viral again — literally. The film saw a huge streaming spike as audiences watched empty streets on screen, echoing their new reality.
10/ Garland has cited Brexit & how the rest of world now looks at the UK as an influence on the movie, he says other countries’ have turned ‘their backs, & are not really looking in this direction’.
11/ The story takes place nearly three decades after the original outbreak of the rage virus. The UK has been ravaged and has become a plague island, remaining under strict quarantine, with survivors forming isolated, self-sufficient communities. Nothing is allowed in, and nothing is allowed out.
12/ A lot of the film is set on Holy Island, a real place on England’s northeast coast, where a small community survives, protected by a single, defensible causeway.
13/ The movie introduces a new generation of characters—most notably Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife Isla (Jodie Comer), and their son Spike, their family story anchors the film’s emotional core.
14/ The film introduces multiple new types of infected. The evolution of the infected over 28 years is a central theme, with filmmakers drawing inspiration from the idea that “nature always finds a way” to adapt and mutate.
15/ The film uses a 2.76:1 widescreen aspect ratio, a format typically reserved for epic films, to create an immersive and unsettling experience for the viewer.
16/ ’28 Days Later’ was famously shot on digital video, which gave it a uniquely homemade feel. For this new film the crew shot a lot of the film using iPhones, to give a modern twist on the original’s gritty DIY camcorder vibe.
17/ Certain scenes were shot using 20 iPhones strapped to each other, which Boyle refers to as a “poor man’s bullet time” effect.
18/ Other innovative shots were achieved by attaching cameras to actors to provide visceral, first-person perspectives, especially for scenes involving the Slow-Lows who crawl on all fours.
19/ Filmmakers built a massive, church-sized Bone Temple from over 250,000 replica bones and 5,500 skulls, serving as a memorial to the dead and a key location in the film.
20/ Ralph Fiennes plays a doctor, who without modern medicines, has found an alternate way of healing. He treats both the infected and uninfected, blurring the lines between the two.
21/ The production team drew inspiration for the look of the island community from post-industrial landscapes and real-world memorials, such as the Covid memorial wall in London.
22/ Actress Jodie Comer has said the scenes with the infected were genuinely horrifying, revealing that the stunt performers didn’t slow down when chasing her, saying ‘There were so many moments where I felt like I was actually running for my life’.
23/ Scottish band ‘Young Fathers’ are set to unleash their signature sound in the film, Boyle previously worked with the trio for the ‘T2: Trainspotting’ soundtrack.
24/ English-Irish actor Jack O’Connell plays Sir Jimmy Crystal, a cult leader with a dark past. His character is set to expand from a supporting role to a leading role across the trilogy.
25/ The first trailer for the film broke the internet with its 100 year old recording of Kipling’s poem ‘Boots’. The chilling refrain heard in the trailer was once used to torture prisoners, and is used in military psychological endurance training.
26/ Actors were trained how to move like zombies by a movement coach who put them through varying levels of tension in order to create sharp, erratic and unpredictable movements.
27/ Spike, the 12-year-old boy played by Alfie Williams is central to the new story. One reason the first two films were shot back-to-back, was for the logistical reason that Alfie wouldn’t age too quickly on screen.
28/ Boyle has confirmed that Cillian Murphy, star of the original film will return… just not yet. The Irish actor is due to return in the second film, but Boyle’s lips are sealed on the details, “I shouldn’t give away too much. I’ll get killed,” he joked.
CATCH 28 YEARS LATER IN CINEMAS JUNE 19th
