Ahead of the release of Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, starring Aaron Taylor Johnson and Jodie Comer, here’s where you can watch the epic prequels to refresh your memory
With the highly anticipated third instalment — 28 Years Later — of the iconic British zombie franchise all set to hit cinema screens tomorrow, fans of the saga are scrambling to refresh their memories about what went down in the last two movies.
After being absent from digital platforms for some time, 28 Days Later — the 2002 original directed by Danny Boyle which kicked off the franchise — is finally available to watch again.
The Cillian Murphy-led first instalment also starring Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eccleston, is currently streaming on BBC iPlayer free of charge and can be watched on NOW in HD with a subscription. Viewers also have the option to rent the blockbuster for £3.49 on Amazon Prime Video UK.
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Although Cillian Murphy did not reprise his role in 28 Weeks Later (2007), Sony bosses have since hinted that the Oscar-winning actor will be back for the third instalment of the franchise, albeit in a “surprising way, and in a way that grows”.
Meanwhile, the 2007 Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-directed sequel, 28 Weeks Later, featuring Jeremy Renner, Robert Carlyle, and Rose Byrne, can be viewed with a subscription on Netflix and Disney+ and is also available to rent on Amazon Prime Video in the UK for £3.49.
The long awaited third film in the franchise, 28 Years Later, is releasing in theatres on June 20. Director Danny Boyle will return to the film’s apocalyptic horror universe after almost 23 years.
Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later is set in the year 2030 — 28 years after the British zombie apocalypse of 2002. It centres around a Geordie family that’s living on an island off the north coast of England, while Great Britain remains under permanent quarantine, with neighbouring European nations patrolling the shores.
The official synopsis of the film reads: “It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway.
“When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.”
28 Years Later writer, Alex Garland, finally confirmed that recent political events influenced the making of the third instalment. While fans of the franchise initially suspected that the global Coronavirus pandemic may have served as a massive inspiration for 28 Years Later, Alex— who directed Ex Machina and Civil War — denied any links between the upcoming zombie horror film and the global lockdowns.
Instead, the Academy Award-nominee was reportedly inspired by Brexit, and claims much of 28 Years Later has been inspired by Britain’s decision to leave the EU back in 2016.
Speaking to Empire about the script and its influences, Alex said: “Covid was not on my mind because it was too recent and too present, but Brexit was.” He noted a “sense of the globe just sort of shifting its position” and “not really looking in this direction,” all of which served as inspiration for the treatment of the movie.