Hollywood Flashback: When ‘28 Days Later’ Reinvented the Zombie Movie

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Over two decades past, the movie “28 Days Later” played a significant role in resuscitating the zombie genre. In this film, Cillian Murphy portrayed Jim, a bike messenger who emerged from a coma to learn he was among the few survivors of a virus that had ravaged the U.K., leaving it nearly empty.

As a devoted admirer of George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” I found myself sharing pizza with producer Andrew Macdonald years ago. It was during this casual meal that I, Alex Garland, came up with an intriguing concept for a feature film: hordes of running zombies terrorizing London. Initially, I collaborated on five drafts with Andrew alone, but eventually, he suggested sharing the idea with our mutual friend and director, Danny Boyle. As Garland recounted to THR, “The fast-moving zombie dogs in the 1996 video game ‘Resident Evil’ were the inspiration behind this unique take on a zombie movie.

During the production of the film in London, the September 11 attacks occurred, causing director Danny Boyle to contemplate the possibility of an attack on the English capital as well. This apprehension seeped into the movie, according to Boyle’s recollection. The cast for this film, which was distributed theatrically by Fox Searchlight on June 27, 2003, included Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eccleston. The movie grossed $74 million worldwide (equivalent to around $130 million today). A story in THR about the film’s enduring legacy mentioned that it employs the concept of “living dead” to delve into the disintegration of society.

In the 2007 sequel titled “28 Weeks Later“, Boyle and Garland were only credited as producers. However, the upcoming Sony release in June 202X, titled “28 Years Later“, welcomes the return of Boyle as director and Garland as writer. The star-studded cast includes Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes. Over time, Boyle has attended anniversary screenings for “28 Days Later” and informed Garland when they were packed with enthusiastic fans. According to Boyle, the appeal of the first movie lies in its concept and the way it was executed. This led them to consider exploring the topic more deeply.

Note: I’ve replaced the actual year with 202X as the exact release date for the upcoming sequel is not specified in the original text.

The article you’re reading was published in The Hollywood Reporter’s June 18th edition. To get more such stories delivered to your inbox, consider subscribing.

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2025-06-19 20:54