28 Years Later could be a great capper to the horror saga, but will it ever happen is another question entirely. The zombie genre was for all intents and purposes stone-cold dead when the 2000s began. While the first Resident Evil movie and Dawn Of The Dead helped revive them, Danny Boyle's movie 28 Days Later was a key entry in the genre too. Boyle's eerie thriller merged b-movie thrills with something more emotional and introduced audiences to young stars Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris. The film was a shock success worldwide but was never intended to launch a franchise.
A sequel arrived in the form of 2007's 28 Weeks Later, which detailed a doomed mission to reintroduce the population to London after the "Rage" infection is presumed to be contained. The follow-up garnered good - if not great - reviews and was a solid success, but a third entry never emerged. Over the years, both writer Alex Garland and Boyle teased a sequel dubbed 28 Months Later which would pick up from the cliffhanger of the second movie, which hinted the infection spread beyond the UK. Over 15 years on from the last outing, 28 Years Later feels more fitting, as does a certain release date.
28 Years Later's Best Release Date Is 2030
Too long has passed to make a more direct follow-up to 28 Weeks Later, and most viewers are likely to recall the events of the original. 28 Years Later is the perfect title for a legacy sequel and could explore the impact the infection had on the world. It could explore how the various nations responded to the threat, including if they chose to help one another or isolate themselves completely. If the producers behind it wanted to add a meta element, the 28 Days Later - which wasn't the first fast zombie movie - sequel could live up to the title and arrive in 2030, exactly 28 years after the original.
Of course, the latter is more of a blue sky pitch, and if the production gathers momentum, it's doubtful Boyle or his collaborators would wait that long for what could be seen as a gimmick. While calling it 28 Months Later leaves some wiggle room for a fourth entry - as Garland joked to IGN in 2015 - the series will never be a franchise on par with the Resident Evil movies. 28 Years Later could also bring back cast members like Murray and Harris, and wrap up the story in a meaningful way. Given the way the original has lingered in pop culture, it's almost shocking a third outing hasn't happened.
Is Another 28 Days Later Sequel Likely?
Since the release of 28 Weeks Later - which wasn't as scary - both Garland and Boyle have mentioned they had a good concept for another film. Garland once suggested waring rights holders were the reason it hadn't happened, but as recently as 2022, Boyle sounded more optimistic to NME. He again affirmed there was a "lovely idea" for another chapter that was centered around England, and he's tempted to direct it. He also cited films like Top Gun: Maverick as a good example of legacy sequels that get audiences to go to the cinema. Sounds like the odds of 28 Years Later are decent - but it's not set in stone yet.