Two Upcoming Movie Sequels Prove A Burned-Out 2000s Subgenre Is Making A Major Comeback

28 Years Later and I Am Legend 2 could be responsible for the comeback of a major movie subgenre of the 2000s. After having development issues for more than a decade, the sequel to 2007’s I Am Legend, which itself was loosely adapted from the Richard Matheson novella of the same name, was officially announced in 2023. The post-apocalyptic sequel is set to have Will Smith reprise his original role as Robert Neville alongside Michael B. Jordan as a new original character.

The upcoming 28 Years Later, which was announced in early 2024, will revive another long-dormant franchise. Although 2002’s 28 Days Later was followed by a sequel, 28 Weeks Later, also in 2007, there has not been another installment since then. While Weeks saw original director Danny Boyle replaced by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Years will see the director returning, re-teaming with original screenwriter Alex Garland and original star Cillian Murphy (as executive producer). The two sequels, while ultimately unrelated, could have a major combined effect on the movie marketplace.

28 Years Later Brings Back The 2000s’ Zombie Boom

28 Days Later Helped Kick Off A Major Trend In 2002

28 Years Later will see the zombie boom of the 2000s returning to theaters in a major way. This would be fitting, as the movie, alongside other early 2000s zombie movie efforts like Resident Evil, helped spur the boom in the first place. Especially if the reuniting duo of Garland and Boyle make good on their promise to develop a full new trilogy in their iconic franchise, theaters could be seeing a major influx of zombie movies that mirrors what happened in the wake of the original movie’s release.

Although there is some dispute whether the 28 Days Later Infected can be considered proper “zombies,” it is undeniable that they were instrumental in propagating a host of zombie or quasi-zombie movies in the mid to late 2000s. This is especially true when it comes to the fast-moving variety, which populated movies like [REC], 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, and – later – Train to Busan and World War Z. The classic slow-moving zombie also experienced a renaissance after 2002, including in a trilogy of new movies by Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero.

I Am Legend 2 Continues The Zombie Genre’s Modern Revival

28 Days Later And I Am Legend Are Inextricably Intertwined

The upcoming I Am Legend 2, which will follow the storyline set up by the I Am Legend alternate ending, will likewise be instrumental in bringing the zombie boom of the 2000s back to the big screen. In spite of the fact that the creatures in the original novella are vampires, the Darkseekers that populate the post-apocalyptic earth operate much more like zombies in the 2007 movie. This includes being driven by a more primal rage rather than a hunting instinct and a lessened ability to speak, unlike the vampires in the original book.

In general, the original 2007 movie also took its cues from 28 Days Later as much as the Richard Matheson text. This includes shots of its lead character wandering through a completely abandoned major city (I Am Legend took place in New York City, as opposed to London). Even though neither sequel in these franchises will explicitly feature zombies, their pandemic storylines both ring true to the zombie subgenre and may strike a chord with audiences after the worldwide shutdowns that came during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Problems With A Zombie Genre Comeback In The 2020s

The Zombie Genre Never Truly Died

One major issue with 28 Years Later and I Am Legend 2 bringing zombies back to theaters is the fact that the subgenre never really died. Instead, it took after the viruses at the center of many zombie stories and mutated. While big screens have seen a general dearth of zombie content in recent years, the genre has found a new home on television and streaming, a move to the small screen that was led by the AMC show The Walking Dead, which premiered in 2010 and led the genre into a new decade.

The AMC show was followed by a variety of wide-ranging TV zombie properties including Z Nation, In the Flesh, iZombie, Santa Clarita Diet, and All of Us Are Dead. Additionally, although the flagship show in the Walking Dead franchise ended in 2022, the franchise now has multiple spinoffs on the air, including Daryl Dixon, Dead City, and The Ones Who Live. Although some feature-length zombie titles made their way to theaters in recent years including Zombieland: Double Tap and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, one of the bigger movies was Zack Snyder’s Netflix hit Army of the Dead.

On the small screen, the market is still somewhat oversaturated, which was one of the key factors in the genre’s theatrical prospects dwindling in the first place in the late 2000s. Another issue with this potential big-screen comeback is the fact that the original I Am Legend had a middling critical reception. 28 Weeks Later‘s reception was also a dip from that of Days, calling into question whether a revival of the 2000s subgenre could prove itself necessary or worthwhile in combatting zombie fatigue. Below, see how all three movies performed on Rotten Tomatoes:

The Zombie Genre’s Real Savior May Not Be A Movie

The Last Of Us Is Bringing Zombies Back To Life

While both upcoming sequels could be well received, the savior of the zombie genre may already have arrived. That would be the blockbuster HBO show The Last of Us, which stars Pedro Pascal and is adapted from the video game of the same name. Just like I Am Legend and 28 Days Later, the show presents zombie tropes without explicitly containing zombies, as its monsters are bloodthirsty humans affected by a fungal brain infection rather than a proper undead virus.

The new show, which premiered season 1 in 2023, was a massive success, earning a Certified Fresh 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and achieving HBO’s second-largest debut since 2010, just behind the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon. While it remains to be seen if 28 Years Later and I Am Legend 2 are able to resurrect the theatrical zombie movie, it seems that the television side of the genre is nevertheless in safe hands with the upcoming The Last of Us season 2, which has already been renewed.