A significant fact about how the world has changed since the last installment is revealed in the story description of 28 Years Later. The fury virus, a deadly illness that turns its patients into the frenzied, sluggish, zombie-like Infected, was first shown in the 2002 film 28 Days Later. The 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later showed an outbreak that spread to continental Europe after surviving characters Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) crash-landed in Paris. In the film, the outbreak was restricted to the island of Great Britain.

The upcoming 28 Years Later, which is set to premiere in theaters on June 20, 2025, is intended to be the first installment of a new trilogy of movies continuing the franchise after more than a decade. The first of the trilogy reteams original director Danny Boyle with original writer Alex Garland and original star Cillian Murphy as Jim. The ensemble cast of the movie also includes Kraven the Hunter’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, The Menu’s Ralph Fiennes, Unbroken’s Jack O’Connell, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Erin Kellyman, and Young Royals’ Edvin Ryding.