A new 28 Years Later reveal may signal the arrival of a main villain who is virus-free, but a monster nonetheless. Currently in production, 28 Years Later reunites Danny Boyle and Alex Garland after the Hollywood heavyweights handed the reins over for 2007’s follow-up, 28 Weeks Later. Plot details for Boyle and Garland’s threequel remain firmly under wraps, but 28 Years Later set photos have revealed stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer looking suitably disheveled as they potter around the UK’s post-apocalyptic landscape avoiding 28 Years Later‘s infected.

One especially curious reveal from 28 Years Later‘s on-location shoot is the presence of characters in military uniform. The image depicts a young blond soldier called E. Sundqvist, who, according to the badge emblazoned on the sleeve of his jacket, is present on behalf of NATO. The character is portrayed by Swedish actor Edvin Ryding and pictured without any context linking him to 28 Years Later‘s story. Thinking back to the previous two movies, however, this NATO soldier might give away a big clue about the sequel’s main villain.

28 Years Later Is Bringing Back The Military After Its Villainous Role In Past Movies

Set Photos Confirm A Military Presence 28 Years After London Fell

In any given zombie story, the zombies themselves are rarely the main villains, and 28 Days Later is no exception to that rule. In Boyle and Garland’s original movie, the most sinister menace was, by some distance, Christopher Eccleston’s Major West, whose plan to repopulate the human race singled him out as 28 Days Later‘s true antagonist.

Despite having a totally different creative team, 28 Weeks Later continued its predecessor’s theme of morally corrupt military leaders via Idris Elba’s Stone – a US Army general leading a NATO operation. Nowhere near as outwardly malicious as West in 28 Days Later, Stone was nevertheless responsible for executing Code Red and ordering the mass shooting of innocent civilians in an unsuccessful attempt to halt the virus.

28 Years Later will seemingly carry the franchise’s militaristic baton onward. At the very least, Ryding’s role confirms military forces will continue to play a significant role in the ongoing post-apocalypse narrative. Based on the less-than-stellar track record of how such organizations acted in those past movies, it does seem probable that 28 Years Later‘s big bad will be another high-ranking soldier making morally questionable, or outright evil, decisions for the supposed greater-good.

The Military’s Role In 28 Years Later Could Be Positive, Critical, Or Both

Don’t Expect Clear-Cut Answers From Alex Garland’s Script

At such an early stage in the movie’s production, it is too early to say for sure whether 28 Years Later will depict its military characters as good, bad, or somewhere in between. It should be noted that 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later both stopped short of critiquing the military as a whole. While 28 Days Later included the deplorable West and his sadistic sidekick, Corporal Mitchell, Sergeant Farrell spoke out against his superior officer and sought to help the protagonists. Boyle and Garland were careful to portray West and his minions as a rogue outfit corrupted by the decay of social law without painting the entire Armed Forces as villains.

28 Weeks Later followed much the same pattern. Ruthless and horrific Stone’s Code Red order may have been, but Jeremy Renner’s Doyle, Rose Byrne’s Scarlet, and Harold Perrineau’s Flynn all chose to rebel and follow their own ethical principles. Once again, the villainy came from a higher-ranking officer whose conscience had been warped by the horrors of the Rage Virus outbreak.

That same moral grayness will likely carry over into 28 Years Later. Alex Garland is renowned for scripts that leave room for interpretation over the movie’s meaning and message – Ex Machina, Annihilation, and most recently, Civil War. It’s difficult to imagine his vision of the military in 28 Years Later being either wholly heroic or entirely critical, meaning the movie’s soldier characters will probably receive representation on both ends of the ethical spectrum.

Is This 28 Years Later Actor Playing A Military Villain?

Has 28 Years Later Pulled Off A Genius Piece Of Casting?

If 28 Years Later does introduce another villainous military leader figure, it already has the perfect actor for the gig. In addition to Taylor-Johnson and Comer, 28 Years Later‘s other major cast addition is Ralph Fiennes – an actor renowned for his portrayals of both villains and military figures. On the villainous side, Fiennes has brought to life Voldemort, Amon Göth from Schindler’s List, and Chef Slowik in The Menu. In terms of military roles, Fiennes played M in the James Bond movies, Oxford in The King’s Man, the leader of a military contractor group in The Hurt Locker and, again, Amon Göth.

Any blockbuster looking to cast a military general as a leading antagonist would struggle not to consider Ralph Fiennes, so his presence among the 28 Years Later cast – combined with the franchise’s demonstrable history of militaristic villains and the now-confirmed NATO soldiers in the upcoming movie – feels undeniably significant. Similar to his predecessors, Fiennes’ 28 Years Later character may believe that sacrificing infected countries is the only way to save the world, or perhaps he seeks to satisfy his own lust for power by establishing harsh military rule where government has fallen.