28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote it with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. The standalone sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later, it stars Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots, and Idris Elba. It is set after the events of the first film, depicting the efforts of NATO military forces to salvage a safe zone in London, the consequence of two young siblings breaking protocol to find a photograph of their mother, and the resulting reintroduction of the Rage Virus into the safe zone.

28 Weeks Later was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2007, by 20th Century Fox and by Fox Atomic in the United States. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $65 million worldwide. A sequel, 28 Years Later, is set for release on 20 June 2025.

Plot
During the original outbreak of the Rage virus, Don, his wife Alice, and four more survivors hide in a cottage on the outskirts of London. They hear a terrified boy pounding at their door and Don lets him in. Minutes later, they discover that infected people have followed the boy. Don pleads with Alice to leave the boy but she refuses so he abandons them and escapes on a boat while Alice, the boy, and the rest of the survivors are presumably killed.

After the infected begin to die of starvation, NATO forces take control of Britain. Twenty-eight weeks after the outbreak, an American force, under the command of Brigadier General Stone, brings in settlers. Among the new arrivals are Don and Alice's children, Tammy and Andy, who were out of the country during the outbreak. They are admitted to District One, a safe zone on the Isle of Dogs, where they are reunited with their father.

That night, Tammy and Andy sneak out of the safe zone and return to their former home, where they collect old family photographs. Andy finds Alice alive in a delirious, semi-conscious state. The three are discovered by American soldiers and taken back to District One, where they are placed in isolation. Alice is taken to a quarantine room, where she is tested by Scarlet, a United States Army medical officer, and found to be an asymptomatic carrier of the Rage virus. Don makes an unauthorized visit to Alice, begging her to forgive him. They kiss and Don is infected. He savagely kills her and goes on a rampage.

Scarlet rescues Tammy and Andy, aware that their genetic makeup might hold the key to a cure. Don starts a domino effect of rapid rage infection. Amidst the chaos, American soldiers cannot distinguish between panicked survivors and rampaging infected, and are told to shoot everyone. One of the snipers, Sergeant Doyle, unable to keep complying with the order, escapes with Scarlet, Tammy, and Andy as the U.S. Air Force firebombs District One. Don is among the infected who survive the bombings and escapes into abandoned London.

Doyle's pilot friend Flynn arrives by helicopter to pick up Doyle but tells him to leave the civilians and head to Wembley Stadium. Doyle ignores his instructions and escorts the trio to Wembley. They break into an abandoned Volvo V70 to escape nerve gas released to kill the infected but are unable to start the car. As American soldiers with flamethrowers draw near, Doyle exits the car to push-start it and is burned alive. Scarlet and the kids escape into the London Underground, but Don kills Scarlet and bites Andy.

Tammy shoots Don dead. Andy remains symptom-free but a carrier of the Rage virus. They are picked up by Flynn, who flies them across the English Channel to France. Twenty-eight days later, a French-accented voice requesting help is heard from the radio in Flynn's abandoned helicopter. A group of the infected emerge at the Paris Métro Trocadéro station with a view across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, revealing that the virus has spread to continental Europe.

Development and writing
The international success of the 2002 horror film 28 Days Later influenced its creators—director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald and screenwriter Alex Garland—to make a sequel four years following its release. Macdonald stated, "We were quite taken aback by the phenomenal success of the first film, particularly in America. We saw an opportunity to make a second film that already had a built in audience. We thought it would be a great idea to try and satisfy that audience again."

In March 2005, however, Boyle revealed he would not be directing due to commitments to Sunshine (2007), but said he would stay on as executive producer. He also teased that its plot would revolve around the aftermath of the first film, and would involve the US Army "declaring the war against infection had been won, and that the reconstruction of the country could begin". Boyle later hired Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, believing he would be able to "bring a fresh new perspective" to the film. Another reason he picked Fresnadillo was because he was a "huge fan" of his 2001 film Intacto. Before Fresnadillo took over, he was on a five-year hiatus from filmmaking, working on TV commercials.

Fresnadillo felt the plot involving a family in Rowan Joffé's original script was underdeveloped, so he decided to rewrite it with collaborators Enrique López-Lavigne and Jesús Olmo. Although both Fresnadillo and López-Lavigne were unimpressed with the initial draft, they found its concept of the family "trying to start over after the first outbreak" a redeemable aspect, deciding to retain it in the rewritten version. Rewriting took almost a year, with Garland making additional input on the script.

Casting
Boyle said in March 2005 that the sequel would feature a new cast, since previous cast members Cillian Murphy, Megan Burns, and Naomie Harris were occupied with their own projects. In September 2006, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots, Idris Elba, Mackintosh Muggleton and Jeremy Renner were announced as the cast for the sequel.

Even though their roles were small or shot from a distance, all the extras who played the infected were required to have a movement-based artistic background, including such occupations as ballet, dance, gymnastics, circus performing, and miming.

Filming
On 1 September 2006, principal photography for 28 Weeks Later began in London, with much of the filming taking place at Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, the safe zone in the film's plot.

The on-location filming took place in London and 3 Mills Studios, although scenes intended to be shot at Wembley Stadium, then undergoing final stages of a major reconstruction, were filmed instead in Wales, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium used as a replacement. Danny Boyle, who is credited as an executive producer on this film and directed 28 Days Later, directed some portions of this film including the opening sequence with Robert Carlyle.

Graphic novel
In July 2006, Fox Atomic Comics and publisher HarperCollins announced the publication, in early 2007, of 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, a graphic novel bridging the gap between 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Motion comics of two segments of the graphic novel were added to the DVD and Blu-ray release of 28 Weeks Later.

Biohazard warning
On 13 April 2007, 28 days before the release of the film in UK cinemas, a huge biohazard warning sign was projected against the White Cliffs of Dover. The sign contained the international biological hazard symbol, along with the admonition that the UK was "contaminated, keep out!"

Release
28 Weeks Later was released on 11 May 2007, in the United Kingdom by 20th Century Fox and in the United States by Fox Atomic.

Home media
1.3 million DVD units have been sold in the United States, gathering a revenue of $24.3 million, as of July 2010. The film has been released as its own DVD and as a double feature with 28 Days Later.

Box office
The film opened in 2,000 cinemas across the United States. It made $9.8 million in its opening weekend, coming in second place at the box office, behind Spider-Man 3. The film has grossed $28.6 million in the US and $35.6 million in other countries, bringing the worldwide total to $64.2 million.

Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has generated a rating of 72% based on 199 reviews and an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critical consensus states, "While 28 Weeks Later lacks the humanism that made 28 Days Later a classic, it's made up with fantastic atmosphere and punchy direction." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average of 78/100 based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

View London called the film an "exciting, action-packed and superbly directed thriller that more than lives up to the original film". The New York Times's A. O. Scott remarked that it is "brutal and almost exhaustingly terrifying, as any respectable zombie movie should be. It is also bracingly smart, both in its ideas and in its techniques".

Derek Elley for Variety called it "a full-bore zombie romp that more than delivers the genre goods".

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed, written and performed by John Murphy. The score was released exclusively to iTunes on 12 June 2007. On 2 June 2009, a limited edition soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records. But only 1500 copies were made.

Sequel
In June 2007, Fox Atomic studio confirmed potential for a third film, dependent upon the financial performance of the film following its home video release. In July of the same year, Boyle said that the story for a third installment had been mapped out. By October 2010, Garland stated that due to differences involving the film rights, the project had been delayed. In January 2011 however, Boyle stated that he believed the project would be realized, stating confirming further developments for the story. By April 2013 however, the filmmaker expressed uncertainty as to whether the movie would be made. In January 2015, Garland addressed the project's status, confirming that while it had fallen into development hell there were serious discussions going on behind the scenes to produce the project. Reiterating that development was progressing, stating that the script he was working on would tentatively be titled 28 Months Later. In June 2019, Boyle confirmed that he and Garland had been working on the third installment. In March 2020, Imogen Poots expressed interest in reprising her role, followed by Cillian Murphy in May 2021.

In June 2023, Boyle and Garland expressed in collaboration their intentions to "seriously" and "diligently" see the project enter production; while announcing that the script was now titled 28 Years Later, acknowledging the years it had taken to be developed. Boyle stated that he would like to serve as director, unless Garland chooses to. By July of the same year, Murphy stated that he had recently discussed the possibility of a third film with Boyle; once again expressing interest in reprising his role if Boyle and Garland return to the franchise in their creative roles.

In January 2024, it was announced that a third film titled 28 Years Later was officially in development; with plans for the project to be the first of a new trilogy of sequels. Danny Boyle will direct the first installment, with a script written by Alex Garland; while the latter will also write the scripts for each of planned sequels. Boyle, Garland, Andrew Macdonald, and Peter Rice will serve as producers. In February of the same year, Murphy discussed his potential involvement with the project. In March 2024, Garland confirmed that he is writing a trilogy of sequel films. The following month, the writer stated that Kes was a major influence on his work for 28 Years Later.