'28 Years Later'; Date Confirmed For Third Movie In The 28 Days Later Franchise

'28 Years Later' is the third instalment of the 28 Days Later franchise. From an announcement by Sony Pictures, the movie is set to hit cinemas on 20 June, 2025. It is going to be directed by the duo Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The original movie '28 Days Later' was also shot by the same duo. Danny Boyle afterwards went off to make more iconic films like 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Steve Jobs'. Alex Garland also directed some notable films like "Ex Machina" as well as using his writing talents to act as the story supervisor for popular video game series 'Devil May Cry'.

The original film was released in 2002. Its plot line followed the protagonist, a bicycle courier by the name of Jim, as he woke up from a coma 28 days later after a rage virus had infected Great Britain. Jim was played by actor Cillian Murphy, who has taken the lead role in many other popular movies like 'Oppenheimer' as well as T.V. serials like 'Peaky Blinders'.

The success of the film revitalised the zombie horror genre and even led to a sequel called '28 Weeks Later' in 2007. There was, however, not much news regarding a third sequel after that.

In a 2012 interview with Dreadcentral, Alex Garland made some comments regarding the issue. "But in regards to another movie, no- there are no plans for a '28 Months Later' or whatever they were calling it," he said. "This is a series I've always been heavily involved with between the original and the sequel so if there were plans for another movie, I would absolutely know about it."

In 2017, however, director Danny Boyle hinted at the possibility of a sequel. During the promotion of his movie 'Yesterday', he said that he and Alex Garland had been working on a sequel, reported Entertainment.ie. While Garland was busy with other projects at the time, it gave hope to fans of the franchise for a third instalment after what had been years of silence.

And now we're here, with a third instalment in the works and set to release next year. While no other details have yet been confirmed like casting decisions or plotlines, fans of the franchise can finally set a date on their calendar for a movie that may once again resurrect the zombie genre.