A Major 28 Years Later Theory Coming True Would Oddly Parallel Another Cillian Murphy Horror Franchise

Cillian Murphy’s anticipated return to zombie horror in 28 Years Later is understandably exciting for genre fans, yet one potential theory about the film could connect it to another of the actor’s previous projects – with potentially damaging results. Following in the footsteps of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s celebrated original, the legacy sequel has a wealth of established lore to draw upon for its story. However, if it continues down the path established by previous films in the series and adheres to established genre tropes, it might risk unwanted comparisons with Murphy’s other work.

Other than being confirmed, little is known about what 28 Years Later‘s story might involve. Although Garland, Boyle, and Murphy are all returning, it is unclear whether the movie will follow on from 28 Days Later, or use the 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later, as its launchpad. Although 28 Weeks Later did not mention Murphy’s character from the original, the movie nonetheless introduced several important elements to the story – especially in its dramatic ending when the outbreak appears to go global. However, one more minor detail could shape 28 Years Later‘s story even further and conflate the film with another Murphy franchise in the process.

Theory: The Infected Will Be Smarter In 28 Years Later

Although one of the hallmarks of the infected in 28 Days and Weeks Later is their animalistic savagery and complete lack of rational thought, 28 Weeks Later provides hints that they are not mindless monsters. Throughout the movie, for example, Robert Carlyle’s infected Don is shown to almost stalk his children across London, despite what should be a completely debilitating condition. This is a marked change from how the infected are portrayed in 28 Days Later, where they lose all sense of identity. This development suggests that, as the story progresses, the infected have the potential to get smarter.

Although smarter infected would change how they are viewed throughout the rest of the franchise, it also makes sense for the story. Were 28 Years Later to feature the exact same antagonists as every other entry in the series, they would quickly lose their impact. Showing some sort of evolution and perhaps making them even more dangerous is the obvious way to ensure they remain a threat, while still staying true to what was hinted at in 28 Weeks Later. However, while this approach would certainly fit the narrative, it also risks making the 28 series more like another Cillian Murphy horror series.

28 Years Later’s Infected Theory Risks Copying Another Cillian Murphy Horror Franchise

If 28 Years Later goes down the smart zombie route, the movie could end up resembling the Quiet Place movie series. As it stands, there are several differences between A Quiet Place and 28 Days Later – the most obvious of which is that John Krasinski’s post-apocalyptic horror movies revolve around an alien invasion rather than an infected outbreak. However, were 28 Years Later to make its villains smarter, it’s easy to see how the two franchises could be conflated – not least because of Cillian Murphy’s involvement in A Quiet Place Part II.

Unlike the infected in 28 Days Later, which are purely reactive and are almost mindless in their pursuit of survivors, the monsters in A Quiet Place do exhibit clear animal cunning. Though they can be tricked and defeated using sound, they are also capable of stalking and ambushing their prey, rather than blindly attacking with no regard for personal safety. Giving 28 Years Later‘s zombies greater cognitive power could therefore risk making their hunting approach too similar to the creatures in A Quiet Place – a comparison that would become even clearer, considering the two franchises’ eerie post-apocalyptic settings and shared actor.

How 28 Years Later Can Differentiate Itself From A Quiet Place Part II

Although making 28 Years Later‘s infected more intelligent is risky, there’s also a scenario where such an approach actually helps the movie stand apart from A Quiet Place. The existence of smarter infected could cause the movie to ask deeper questions about their humanity and whether they can either be saved, or whether they represent the next stage in human evolution. Such a step would make the film feel more adjacent to other post-apocalyptic works like Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, as opposed to A Quiet Place‘s approach of making its antagonists explicitly inhuman.

Beyond sharing a performer in Cillian Murphy, A Quiet Place and 28 Days Later‘s evocative post-apocalyptic setting inevitably invites comparison. However, even if 28 Years Later does make the infected more like the intelligent predators seen in the Quiet Place films, it won’t necessarily mean the two become indistinguishable. The A Quiet Place films are a story of survival against all odds, while intelligent infected in 28 Years Later will shift the focus onto exactly what it is that makes its characters human. In many ways, these themes overlap. However, it doesn’t have to be the case that 28 Years Later becomes a mirror of Murphy’s previous work.