What Could The 28 Days Later Sequel Be About? Fans Have Some Ideas

"28 Days Later" was just the shot in the arm that the zombie-horror subgenre needed. By speeding them up and making them rage out, zombies suddenly become terrifying again instead of something you can just walk right by. However, the real terror for fans of the first two films in the series is that we've never gotten another sequel.

Since "28 Weeks Later" in 2007, the franchise has been mostly dormant outside of the occasional rumor about a third movie. But now that it appears that director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are indeed returning for a new installment, fan theories on what another movie in the franchise might entail are more relevant than ever. 

On the r/movies subreddit, u/Joseph_Ferguson weighed in, suggesting a realistic plot that could easily set up a third film in the "28 Days Later" franchise. "Because 28 months have passed, everyone in the quarantine area have died off," they explained. "The 'zombies' have also died off because they are just rage beings and wouldn't take time to do things like eat, sleep, or take care of basic biological functions. It would be a massive cleanup by the nations that didn't have the infection. 28 Years Later would be when the quarantine has lifted, and people start to do clean up." 

Generally speaking, the "28 Days Later" franchise has always been pretty grounded, so an approach like this one definitely makes sense. It also creates a great opportunity for future chaos. All it would take is one single exposure and suddenly, infected are spreading throughout the city and the cleanup crew is just struggling to survive as they get picked off one by one.

Meanwhile, u/jpence1983 shot for the stars with their idea to bring science fiction elements into the "28 Days Later" universe. They suggested a new franchise entry that would focus on a struggle between space-dwelling humans who fled Earth to escape the outbreaks and left-behind survivors: "When the colonists return, they come as invaders: their resources have begun to dwindle, and their gene pool has become thin as attrition of illness and starvation takes its toll."

Though this could be too big of a change compared to the smaller-scale scope of the first two films, it's worth noting that returning screenwriter Alex Garland has written some great science fiction, including "Ex Machina" and "Annihilation." On the other hand, u/BusinessPurge offered the idea that the rage virus has destroyed all but island nations.

"A new UN of island nations puts together a joint strike force/scientific team to finally formally investigate the science facilities where the Rage virus may have been created," they suggested. "Civilization has been rebuilt enough that they have the luxury of 'pursuing the origins.'" 

While we still don't know what the upcoming "28 Days Later" sequel will be about, these ideas have definitely got us excited for whatever is coming down the pipeline.