Summary
28 Days Laterwas a small movie that premiered in the UK in 2002 before being released in North America in 2003. After a small reprieve,28 Weeks Laterwas released in 2007. After that, the series went on hiatus, even though work on a sequel started and stopped numerous times.
At long last, eighteen years later and twenty-three years after the original,28 Years Lateris here. Even better,fans won’t have to wait longfor the direct sequel,28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is scheduled for release sometime in January 2026. That wait won’t be so long, so for now, let’s go through all thenew lore changes that28 Years Laterintroduced to the franchise.
5Zombie Types
From Bloated Babies To Alphas
In the first two movies, the heroes mostly face typical bloodthirsty zombies, albeit ones who can run fast. There are no alternate types to speak of, likein zombie games,includingLeft 4 DeadandThe Last of Us. In28 Years Later, this is one of the biggest changes, because there are a few varieties, with one being more significant than the others.
The normal Rage Virus zombies are still around, running amok in the UK, but there are also the bloated types that can only crawl, as Jamie and Spike encounter early on in the film. They resemble babies, and although they don’t have names, they are distinct in their design. Then there are the Alphas, who show signs of intelligence and also follow a leader. Beyond that, the leaders are towering behemoths compared to most humans, including the two named leaders: Samson and Berserker.
4Zombies Can Give Birth
The Miracle Of The Placenta
The intelligence and size of the Alphas are not the only changes worth noting in the franchise’s lore. About halfway through the film, Spike, Isla, and Erik encounter a pregnant Alpha who is seemingly betrothed to Samson, making her one of thescariest moms in all media. It’s not known whether this woman was impregnated as a zombie or was pregnant before she turned. Either way, she gives birth, and everything seems to be okay with the baby. It doesn’t look like those creepy bloated baby men, and instead cries like a normal baby.
The reason given by Dr. Kelson is that a woman’s placenta is miraculous and can fight off all sorts of infections. Since28 Years Later: The Bone Templeis set to be a direct sequel, questions about the baby’s development probably won’t be addressed in it. If a fifth movie happens, perhaps the series will age this child, who Spike names after his mom, Isla, to delve more into new lore about zombie-born babies.
3Zombies Hate Iodine
Dr. Kelson Has A Plan
There are many mysteries surrounding Dr. Kelson, whom Isla and Spike travel to at the end of the film. Isla is sick and needs a doctor badly, one whohopefully has a curefor whatever illness she has. Unfortunately, her cancer is beyond treatment, leading Dr. Kelson to humanely put her to sleep. Beyond that, Dr. Kelson shares a few tidbits about the makeup of the infected.
For example, when they meet Dr. Kelson, he is as orange as an Oompa Loompa fromCharlie and the Chocolate Factory. That’s because Dr. Kelson rubs his skin with iodine, which he claims helps ward off the infected. He has seemingly survived for years without help, so apparently, this must be true. Also, zombies can be affected by other chemicals, like the tranquilizer mix Dr. Kelson shoots Samson with, which paralyzes him. Dr. Kelson could unveil more about the zombie experiments he conducted over the years in the sequel to help further flesh out the world.
2The UK Has Been Quarantined Again
The Rest Of The World Is Fine?
It always seemedlike the UKwas ground zero for the infection, and now it appears that28 Years Laterhas confirmed this. There is a text-based opening that reveals that the plague Europe experienced has been quelled, and now the UK specifically has been quarantined from the rest of the world. This differs from28 Weeks Later,in which reconstruction had begun in the UK before another outbreak occurred. No wall is ever shown, so it’s unknown how the country is quarantined, but the fact of the matter remains the same: the UK is cut off from the rest of the world. Additionally, patrols are periodically dispatched around the UK, including the surrounding waters, to ensure no one escapes.
Erik, a soldier who Isla and Spike meet, all but confirms this. The only reason Erik and his squad were on the mainland was that their boat had crashed. He explains that anyone who steps onto the mainland is all but abandoned, and no rescue will come for them, which is a grim fate. He even talks about how normal life is outside of the quarantine zone, or at least, what is normal in Sweden, where Erik is from.Military units havealways been a big part of this series, but Erik’s presence all but confirms how the rest of the world sees the UK.
1A Cure Was Never Made
And Paris Wasn’t Destroyed
28 Weeks Lateradded a lot to the lore of what was a relatively simple zombie movie, albeitwith fast-moving zombies. For example, as previously mentioned, the UK was cleared for reconstruction until a second outbreak occurred. This happened because a man named Don kissed his wife, Alice, whom he thought was not infected, but she was. The virus lay dormant in her blood, and she could infect others, but she was okay on her own.
A military doctor, Scarlet, thinks Alice’s children, Tammy and Andy, may have the same blood, which could lead to a cure. On the journey, Andy is bitten and doesn’t turn, just like his mother. The movie then shifts to a month later in Paris, which is being overrun by infected, and then the credits roll. The screen crawl at the start of28 Years Latersays that the rest of Europe is okay now, retconning this cliffhanger ending. Additionally, although it seemed that Andy was the key to finding a cure, this never actually happened. Maybe a cure isn’t possible, or at the very least, the series isn’t willing to show it yet.
