Summary

28 Years Later infects theaters on June 20, 2025.

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff interviewed the film’s stars, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Alfie Williams.

They discuss their experience building an on-screen family, Williams’ exceptional feature debut, the backstory they developed for their characters, and more.

The long-anticipated sequel to Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic saga finally arrives in theaters this week, with 28 Years Later returning to the virus-ravaged world first introduced in 2002’s 28 Days Later. As the title suggests, in this new movie, Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland explore how Britain has changed nearly three decades after the initial outbreak. Leading the new cast are Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Alfie Williams in his breakout feature film role. Jamie (Taylor-Johnson) and Isla (Comer) are survivors of the Rage Virus, living in an island community with their 12-year-old son, Spike, portrayed by Williams. When father and son set out on a mission to the mainland, they discover a world teeming with horrors and wonders. The cast for 28 Years Later also features Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Erin Kellyman, Emma Laird, Chi Lewis-Parry, and more. In an interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Taylor-Johnson, Comer, and Williams dive into the family dynamics of 28 Years Later. Comer and Taylor-Johnson highlight Williams’ confidence in his first film role, and the whole group discusses the significance of the island, their characters’ histories, and loads more.
Alfie Williams Is an Instant Sensation

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer discuss what made Williams an on-set standout.

PERRI NEMIROFF: Alfie, I’m going to start by making this really awkward for you, but I kind of have to because you’re absolutely phenomenal in this movie, and the world needs to know it. Aaron and Jodie, can you tell me the very first thing you saw him do on this set that made you stop and go, “That right there is a star?” AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON: I was hugely impressed with Alfie’s focus and his energy every single day. He was so switched on and gave it his all, and terrific to work with. To have collaborative conversations with Danny [Boyle] and come up with great thoughts and opinions on his character in the scenes, he truly came to work prepared every day. So, it was very impressive, emotionally. JODIE COMER: I think we both saw it when we were in the rehearsal period. You’re sat around a table with a group of adults, and Alfie would always know all his lines, he’d have thoughts about his intentions of the scene, he’d ask really intelligent and thought-provoking questions. There was just a level of confidence that he had that I was like, “Wow!” It’s so beautiful to see that in such a young person and be able to be a part of and command a space like that. We’re very proud of him. TAYLOR-JOHNSON: You definitely see it in the movie, his choices. His character goes on such a journey, and you really see that.

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Sony, don’t go after him.

Alfie, I want to give you an opportunity to give them some flowers right back. In our press notes, you stressed that you learned a lot from them, and you even applied some of what you saw them do on this set to your own work in the movie. Can you tell me something that you saw each of them do that you were able to back-pocket and eventually use yourself making the film? ALFIE WILLIAMS: I think just watching them before they go into a scene, just the different techniques they use to get ready for a scene. Aaron starts jumping around, but Jodie would just sit and she was just focused and she was zen. [Laughs] So ready. I mean, both of them are absolutely fantastic, and I couldn’t ask for a better mom and dad. Back to sending flowers your way now! I do an interview series and I end those interviews with this question all the time, but it feels really applicable to your situation because it’s your first time headlining a movie, and it should be celebrated. I find that in this industry, everybody is great at giving each other awards, but nobody ever tells themselves “good job” as much as they should. So, Alfie, I want to know something you accomplished making 28 Years Later that you know you’re always going to be able to look back on and say, “You know what? I am so proud of what I did right there.” WILLIAMS: Well, I think it’s just being part of a film. You know what I mean? It’s always been my dream since I was, like, I don’t know, six, and I’ve accomplished it, and it’s fantastic. The film is great, and I’m just happy that, one day, if I have children, I could show them and say, “That was me when I was a kid.” I’ve always got this film to look back on and remember.
Danny Boyle Offered a “Freedom of Space to Make Mistakes” on ’28 Years Later’

The director’s experimental filmmaking allows his cast and crew to exercise their creativity.

This is Alfie’s first time around in a major role in a feature. Aaron and Jodie, you have a lot of experience, but Danny’s pretty well known for using innovative filmmaking techniques. Did the two of you experience any filmmaking firsts because of how he likes to push it and try new things? TAYLOR-JOHNSON: Yeah. Absolutely. I think most days were definitely a new experience for me, and for us. Very creative. He was experimenting with these different cameras and different rigs and stuff, and not always with a sense of, like, “This is how it’s going to work.” Some things he’d be like, “Look, I don’t know,” and that was quite refreshing because it meant that there was this freedom of space to make mistakes, but be creative and find something new. He’s exceptional. When you’re in the hands of Danny, he’s got such an enthusiasm and this great energy, he really makes you feel in the safest of hands. COMER: I would mirror that.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer Reveal the Surprising Significance of the Island

The two share details from their characters’ histories before the film picks up.

Aaron and Jodie, when we meet your characters in the movie, their relationship isn’t at its prime. It’s not in its strongest state. Did you two do any backstory work for that relationship, perhaps coming up with things that we don’t necessarily see or hear directly in the movie, but are informing your performances and can ensure that, as an outsider only experiencing a small part of their story, we can still feel like what was lost from the past? TAYLOR-JOHNSON: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like there was definitely a lot of love there in their relationship, but we had this two-week period before in the rehearsal period to really kind of dive into how they may have found each other, their relationship to the community, the island. The one thing that they both can agree on is that they adore their son, and they’ve raised their son in this community. It’s only when it comes, the day I take him off the mainland, that you really get a sense that there’s a little bit of tension between the two, and maybe my character’s in a lot of denial of his wife’s condition. So, it’s fractured, and it’s complex, and I like that humanity, that sort of human, flawed aspect of it. Yeah, we talked a lot about the backstory to feel like it was grounded in something. COMER: Yeah. It was like you say, it was important for us to understand that, and honestly, you then have to kind of forget it when you get on the set because you’re faced with the material in front of you and where they are at this present moment. But yeah, it was always important for us to feel that we knew the history before they got to this point. WILLIAMS: I think Spike can see that, as well, witnesses it. He totally watches his family kind of separate. TAYLOR-JOHNSON: I always like that you felt that Isla was maybe named after the island, like she was an islander, or maybe it was a second home or something, that your father was taking you there, and when the event happened, it was sort of like a first-place solace to go to so that you knew that community.

Image via Sony Pictures

COMER: Yeah. I felt like she always had a connection to it prior. WILLIAMS: I didn’t know that. TAYLOR-JOHNSON: We did, we went deep. [Laughs] COMER: We did a little bit of homework! 28 Years Later opens in theaters on June 20.

28 Years Later

Release Date

June 20, 2025

Runtime

126 minutes

Director

Danny Boyle

Producers

Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Bernard Bellew

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