Ralph Fiennes was out promoting his latest project, the Edward Berger-directed, Pope-themed thriller Conclave, when he spilled the beans about the plot of 28 Years Later.
Danny Boyle is set to direct the return to the world of the Rage virus for the third time, and will kick off a trilogy of movies. Nia DaCosta will then direct the second movie. This first instalment stars Fiennes alongside Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, Erin Kellyman, and a returning Cillian Murphy.
In an interview with Indiewire, Fiennes gave up all sorts of details. He said the first to movies have been shot back-to-back, then revealed that he plays a doctor in the first movie, explaining the plot as:
“Britain is 28 years into this terrible plague of infected people who are violent, rabid humans with a few pockets of uninfected communities.
It centers on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother. He leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain.
But of course, around them hiding in forests and hills and woods are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd, but actually is a force for good.”
28 Years Later was shot mainly on specially adapted iPhones. The second movie is filming across North Yorkshire.
The film’s title was revealed as 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple.
Despite Boyle not considering 28 Days Later as a zombie film, he acknowledged he was completely inspired by the world of George A. Romero. 28 Days Later then went on to reinvigorate the genre, leading to a remake of Dawn Of The Dead, The Walking Dead being adapted for television, and even the greenlighting of a new entry in Romero’s franchise.
Will the new series of movies do the same, just as endless spin-offs from The Walking Dead seem determined to put it back in the ground?