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28 Years Later has arrived more than two decades after the original, placing cinemagoers back into a world ravaged by the incurable Rage Virus.
Ahead of the film’s release, many rushed to revisit 2002’s 28 Days Later which, like the sequel, was directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
However, fans of the original have been left wondering whether they should bother watching the 2007 follow-up 28 Weeks Later.
28 Weeks Later, starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner, follows the efforts of American NATO forces to establish a safe zone in London after the outbreak of the Rage Virus.
Boyle was unable to direct the sequel as he was making Sunshine, but he is listed as an executive producer on the film, which was instead made by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Boyle recruited the Spanish director to make the film after watching his 2001 film Intacto.
Fresnadillo wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo, and while Garland is said to have made additions, there’s one plot point that he and Boyle completely retconned within the first few seconds of 28 Years Later.
In the closing moments of 28 Weeks Later, it’s revealed that the virus has spread to Europe, with a horde of infected being seen in Paris, France, running near the Eiffel Tower.
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Robert Carlyle in ‘28 Weeks Later’ (20th Century Fox)
But a title card at the start of 28 Years Later informs viewers that “the French managed to drive the virus back across the channel to its origin in the British mainland”, with Boyle explaining the decision stemmed from wanting to keep the franchise in Britain.
He told Collider: “What was unique about the first film and was the best choice we ever made about it was that it featured entirely British. It was just that land. And it was extraordinary thinking about something that powerful breaking out in that particular space, and it had to be dealt with by the inhabitants of that land. And we decided to concentrate on that.”
He said: “There’s nothing wrong with 28 Weeks Later”, stating: “We decided not to follow those story elements. And it’s a bold choice we decided to declare up front by saying the Rage Virus was driven back from mainland Europe.”
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Ralph Fiennes in ‘28 Years Later’ (Sony Pictures Releasing)
28 Years Later stars Alfie Williams as Spike, a 12-year-old kept safe from the virus while living on a small island connected to the mainland by a heavily defended causeway.
The film, which also features Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes, starts on the day Spike is taken on a mission to the mainland for the very first time with his dad, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Find The Independent’s verdict on the film here.