Summary
Filmmaker Alex Garland would be wasting his talents by following up his screenplay with the long-awaited sequel28 Years Laterinstead of a different sci-fi film. Most recently,Alex Garland helmed A24’s second-highest-grossing film,Civil War, and it was announced that the director would return to the writer’s chair for the second sequel to Danny Boyle’s cult zombie flick.The original was a massive success at the box office, raking in 84 million dollars worldwideagainst its meager eight million dollar budget.It was also a huge critical success, receiving an 87% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Even though details have been scarce about the depth ofAlex Garland’s involvement in28 Years Later, a Jul 27, 2025 release date has been confirmed.The details of the plot are still under wraps, but Cillian Murphy has joined as an executive producer, and Aaron Taylor Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes have joined the cast.While Alex Garland’s decision to step away from directing and his involvement have recently made headlines, if he does direct again, it makes more sense for him to finish the story of his 2018 sci-fi horror film.
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Annihilation 2 Is A Better Alex Garland Sequel Project Than 28 Years Later
The 28 Days Later Storyline Has Already Run Its Course
A sequel toAnnihilation, which would presumably be based on the second novel in the series, titledAuthority, would make for a perfect project forAlex Garland’s movie career. There is much more story to tell, and other characters to introduce, while the28 Days Laterfranchise has seemingly run its course, at least with the established characters already introduced.The storyline moved on from Jim (Cillian Murphy) by the sequel.While Murphy’s involvement has been rumored for the third film, it’s hard to believe his character would survive almost three decades into such a terrible apocalypse.
In28 Weeks Later, Jim’s whereabouts are unknown. He isn’t a prominent character, and the storyline becomes much more United States military-focused.A third film bringing back Jim’s character would make the second movie feel even more disjointed than it already does.A sequel toAnnihilationwould allow Garland to explore his obvious love for science fiction even more, adapt the novel with his own screenplay again, and continue to show off his directing style, whereas those responsibilities would most likely fall on Danny Boyle in28 Years Later.
Annihilation Is Perfect For A Sequel
The Film Has A Series Of Books To Pull Source Material From And A Cliffhanger Ending
A secondAnnihilationmovie would have a large pool to pull source material from.Jeff Vandermeer’sSouthern Reachtrilogy dives deeper into the origin of the aura (shimmer, in the film), as well as focusing on different main characters in each book. The second book’s introduction of John “Control” Rodriguez, the newly hired director of the government agency that manages the shimmer’s spreading issue, is particularly important. Bringing in new characters ceases the need to bring back older cast members, as well.
The four books in Jeff Vandermeer’sSouthern Reachseries are titledAnnihilation,Authority,Acceptance, andAbsolution.
In addition to already having a story to adapt,the cliffhanger ending ofAnnihilationkept things vague.It enticed the audience to want to know about the shimmer’s origins and future geological impact and the eventual fates of those who enter it, including Natalie Portman’s character Lena. Whether Lena was a doppelgänger like her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac) was just one of manyquestionsAnnihilationleft unanswered. Additionally, whileAnnihilationcovers some of the events that happened to Kane’s team before Lena’s team entered the shimmer, a more specific rundown of their journey could be explored in a sequel.
Alex Garland Has Outgrown 28 Days Later
Garland’s Films Now Tend To Go Deeper Than What The Zombie Subgenre Has To Offer
At this point in Alex Garland’s movie career, he’s simply outgrown his initial writing work for28 Days Later.The sequel could be seen as more of a cash grab than as a project that captures Garland’s typical taste for metaphorsand analogies of real-life social issues.28 Days Laterwas a great stepping stone, but with the projects Garland has had more influence over, he tends to highlight deeper meaning.Ex Machinawent into the dangers of AI use and the abuse of its power.Men(2022) shone a light on mental health and abuse towards women.
Most recently,Civil Warshowed the dangers of infighting within the US, and that in war, there are no winners, regardless of what side people fight for.The original28 Days Laterwas seen as a metaphor for an oppressive society, xenophobia, and intolerance, specifically in the UK, according toSlay Away.Rehashing those messages in a third film that takes place decades later just doesn’t seem on par with Garland’s typical style, especially when he can continue to focus on the messages of humanity’s evolution and adaptation in a sequel toAnnihilation.
Even though it seems like Alex Garland has potentially grown beyond writing a zombie movie sequel like28 Years Later, it has been confirmed and will happen.It seems like a waste, as Garland flourishes more in the director’s chair and with more opinionated, metaphorical sci-fi stories.Unfortunately, there has been no indication thatAnnihilationwill continue with a sequel from Alex Garlandor anyone else.
28 Years Later
Cast
28 Years Later follows a group of survivors living on an isolated island nearly three decades after the rage virus outbreak. Venturing into the quarantine zone of the mainland, they uncover dangerous secrets and transformations among both the infected and other surviving factions.
Annihilation
Alex Garland’s Annihilation is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. It follows a group of explorers - comprised of biology professor Lena (Natalie Portman), psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson), geomorphologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Nvotny), and paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) - as they enter “the Shimmer”, a quarantined zone of mutated plants and animals caused by an unknown extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Lena agrees to enter the Shimmer in search of her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), who was sent in as part of a special forces operation.
