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’28 Years Later’ Ending May Be Divisive, But It Works
(L to R) Spike (Alfie Williams), Isla (Jodie Comer) and Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Preview:
- ’28 Years Later’ has an ending that is dividing audiences.
- The ending is a perfect transition into the next film, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’.
- The final scene could have been an end-credit scene.
SPOILER ALERT: Some spoilers for ‘28 Years Later’ below.

The ending of ‘28 Years Later‘ is getting people to talk about the movie, that’s for sure. Some love it, some hate it, some are indifferent to it, but either way you look at it, that final scene is splitting audiences. People online have gone so far as to say that the end completely ruined the movie for them.

While it does shift the movie tonally, it feels as if there is a reason for that. Nia DaCosta‘s follow-up, ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple‘, releases January 16, 2026, and this is likely a transition into that. It also ties together the opening scene as well as hints that were sprinkled throughout the film in an interesting way.
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’28 Years Later’ takes place, you guessed it, 28 years after the infection prominently featured in ‘28 Days Later‘ and ‘28 Weeks Later‘ started. It is not necessary to have seen the other movies, as this one follows a new group of people and does a decent job of catching viewers up on where they need to be to understand it.

Spike (Alfie Williams) has turned twelve and his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) believes it is time for him to go zombie hunting on the mainland and get his first kill. His mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), is very sick, although they do not know with what. After discovering there is a doctor on the mainland, he leaves the safety of his community with her to try to help her.

What follows is a terrifying adventure as they navigate a plethora of zombies and threats – including a pregnant zombie who births a non-infected child, something that will surely come back around later.

Related Article: As Intense As Ever, it Feels Like No Time Has Passed in ’28 Years Later’

’28 Years Later’ Ending Explained

(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After Spike drops a newborn baby off at his community, he decides that he needs some time to clear his head and wander the countryside. You see, this movie has always been about him. About his relationship with his parents and his journey into adulthood. The trailers showcased Spike and Jamie, but that was in an effort to keep a lot of surprises, twists, and turns hidden so audiences can experience them on the big screen.

As he is cooking fish and relaxing, a zombie horde attacks. He holds his own for a while, but thankfully Jimmy (Jack O’Connell) shows up with some friends to take down the rest of the horde in a wild, ridiculous, over-the-top, yet extremely fun action sequences. The internet is calling this group Power Rangers and the Tracksuit Mafia, because they all wear brightly colored outits. Jimmy wears a crown on his head and definitely a weird guy, but this is not the first time we have seen him.

The opening scene showed a young Jimmy at the start of the infection. His father was a priest and welcomed the zombies, claiming that it was a prophecy being fulfilled. Jimmy hid in the church as he watched his father be devoured, so it makes sense that his brain might have snapped a little at that moment.

While we did not see him at all throughout the rest of the movie, we did see his name a few times. It was carved into the hanging zombie that Spike and his father come across early on, as well as written on one of the walls that they passed. There are likely even more references to him that eagle-eyed viewers can spot.

There Is A Method To The Madness

(L to R) Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It might seem like this final scene comes completely out of left field, but it instantly felt like a transition into the next movie. Looking around the internet, so many have forgotten about Nia DaCosta’s ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ and the fact that it not only was shot together with this movie, but that it is releasing in January.

When a director takes over the franchise for another director, often they collaborate on the pivotal scene that leads from one to another. For example, The Russo Brothers directed the end-credit scene in ‘Thunderbolts*‘ because it is going to lead into ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘. Surely she had some involvement, and potentially even directed this divisive scene.

Jack O’Connell shined in ‘Sinners‘ as Remmick, a cenuries-old vampire who has some quirks of his own. He is a little weird and a little twisted, so it should come as no surprise that he is channeling a little bit of that into his ’28 Years Later’ character, Jimmy. Plus, it makes sense storywise for him to be a little off.

The Ending Would Have Been Easier To Digest As An End-Credit Scene

Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’), (L) and Danny Boyle (director, ’28 Years Later’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.

All of this to say that the final sequence should have been an end-credit scene. This would have helped audiences separate the two with it not being such a stark difference from the majority of the movie, and certainly the third act. The tonal shift seems to be what it holding a lot of people back from allowing themselves to not only enjoy it, but to get excited about what is coming next.

It would have been easy enough to start rolling the credits when Spike was cooking the fish, but then during a mid-credit or end-credit scene show the zombie horde attacking with the lead-in to him meeting Jimmy and his crew. This would have helped viewers to see this as the start of the next movie, rather than an ending that comes out of nowhere for this one.

(L to R) Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), Isla (Jodie Comer) and Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Who is in the cast of ’28 Years Later’?
- Jodie Comer as Isla
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie
- Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Ian Kelson
- Alfie Williams as Spike
- Christopher Fulford as Sam
- Edvin Ryding as Erik Sundqvist
- Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson
- Jack O’Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal
(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.

Movies Similar to ‘28 Years Later’:
- ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
- ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1979)
- ‘Day of the Dead’ (1985)
- ‘28 Days Later‘ (2003)
- ‘Dawn of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘28 Weeks Later‘ (2007)
- ‘Zombieland‘ (2009)
- ‘World War Z‘ (2013)
- ‘Warm Bodies‘ (2013)
- ‘Army of the Dead‘ (2021)
Buy Tickets: ’28 Years Later’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Aaron Taylor-Johnson Movies on Amazon
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June 27, 2025
Movie Review: ’28 Years Later’
(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.

’28 Years Later’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.

Opening in theaters on June 20 is ’28 Years Later,’ directed by Danny Boyle and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, and Jack O’Connell.

Related Article: Cillian Murphy Does Not Appear in ‘28 Years Later’ Producer Andrew Macdonald Confirms

Initial Thoughts

An infected in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.

Director Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later,’ released in 2003, gave a fresh new spark of life (pardon the expression) to the reanimated dead. Well, hold up: the rabid, frenzied, flesh-tearing creatures of Boyle’s groundbreaking film were not zombies risen from the grave, but living humans infected with a powerful bioweapon – nicknamed the Rage Virus – that turned them into fast-moving, savage, homicidal murderers within minutes.

Boyle’s overwhelmingly violent Infected (as they came to be called), the use of digital video cameras for maximum flexibility, the filming in real locations, and the emphasis on character – particularly Cillian Murphy’s Jim – all contributed to the movie’s success and its impact on the zombie subgenre of horror, no matter what Boyle called his monsters. ’28 Weeks Later,’ a lackluster sequel without the involvement of either Boyle or writer Alex Garland (later to write and direct ‘Ex Machina,’ ‘Civil War,’ and ‘Warfare’), followed five years later, and rumors have persisted ever since about a third movie – with Boyle allegedly interested in returning.

Now it’s happened: Boyle and Garland have returned respectively to direct and write ’28 Years Later,’ which – as the title confirms – takes place decades after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus. And true to form, the two filmmakers have once again crafted a horror epic that, while it may not feel as groundbreaking as the original, is incredibly intense, visceral, and atmospheric, while providing characters whose fates we come to care very much about.

Story and Direction

Director Danny Boyle for Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Anthony Ghnassia.

An opening card tells us that the Rage Virus was driven back from continental Europe but confined to the British mainland, with a strict quarantine in place and the survivors inside left to fend for themselves. Admittedly, there’s a rather large hole in the story here if you want to think about it: have there really been no attempts in nearly three decades to contact anyone living inside the quarantine zone, or find a way to rescue them? Perhaps Boyle and Garland are saying something about the transactional, indifferent relationship among nations now, in which a nation’s collapse leads others to push away as if they don’t want to get caught in its wake and pulled under with it, but it still sits there as a gap in the worldbuilding.

Otherwise that worldbuilding is largely well-handled. The bulk of the film takes place among the community of Holy Island, a thousand-acre patch floating off the coast and connected by a causeway. The community there is a rural, agrarian one, isolating themselves with heavy fortifications at the causeway entrance and the water around them doing the rest (their form of government is never quite explained, but they’re damn good at throwing drunken, almost ritualistic parties).

It’s here we meet 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams), his dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his mum Isla (Jodie Comer), as Spike prepares for a kind of rite of passage in which he and his dad will cross the causeway to the mainland so that Spike can kill his first Infected. Isla, however, is not completely on board with it, but can’t do much about it either: she is suffering from a malady that causes her great pain, mood disorders, and memory loss, and since Holy Island has no doctors there is no way to determine what is afflicting her.

(L to R) Director Danny Boyle with Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the set of Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jamie and Spike’s trip to the mainland – the rules are that if they don’t come back, no one will go out to look for them – is not exactly a walk in the park. They’re pursued by both slow-moving Infected that have bloated into almost slug-like form and the fast-moving brand seen in the previous two movies, only now mostly filthy, naked, and barely recognizable as human. There are also “alphas,” leader-type Infected whose bodies have been expanded to strongman proportions by the Rage Virus and are, if anything, even more relentless and brutal than the regular flavor.

Spike makes his first kill, although he bungles the rest (“the more you kill, the easier it gets,” his dad offers helpfully), and learns that there is an insane man living further out in the land who may have once been a doctor. “There are strange people on the mainland,” Jamie warns, but after father and son return to Holy Island and a lavish celebration – during which Spike sees Jamie do something that is hurtful to the boy – Spike turns on his dad, smuggles Isla from the house, and secretly takes her to the mainland, where he hopes to locate the doctor, Ian Kelson, and see if he can make his mother well again.

All this plays out in a visual aesthetic that pays homage to the original film but enhances it. Boyle uses up to 20 iPhones to shoot some sequences, including a sort of version of “bullet time” for a number of the film’s very gory kills. Yet the film is also shot in an ultra-wide 2:76:1 ratio, giving it an expansive feel while retaining the intimacy of the original movie. The editing is quick, as in ’28 Days,’ and often choppy, mirroring the chaos of the world in which the story is set, while certain scenes – like Spike and Jamie’s frantic dash back on the causeway against a glittering star-filled sky – have a dark fairy tale patina to them.

(L to R) Jodie Comer and Director Danny Boyle on the set of Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are other sequences, some even in broad daylight with the backdrop of pristine green fields and mountains behind them, that border on nightmarish due to the frightening assault of the Infected at nearly every turn. There are moments of beauty as well, such as a late scene between Spike and Isla in the temple of bones glimpsed in the trailers. And there are bucketfuls of in-your-face gore as the Infected kill or are killed, with plenty of guts, gouts of blood, and decapitated heads on hand (not to mention one skin-crawling yet eventually poignant scene on an abandoned train) to firmly establish this new entry’s credentials for the zombie horror crowd.

But best of all, there is a great story behind it all, anchored by terrific characters like Jamie, Spike, Isla, and later, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). Although the script can feel episodic and there are some shifts in tone here and there that don’t quite line up, the fate of these people and the ordeal they go through is riveting enough to carry the movie to an ending that some folks may find irritating (because it all but advertises the sequel, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ which is due out next January).

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Spike (Alfie Williams), Isla (Jodie Comer) and Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are three outstanding performances in ’28 Years Later.’ The first is by Alfie Williams, making his motion picture debut as Spike. This is really Spike’s story, a chronicle of his passage from brave but still nervous boy into a stronger, more resilient, more mature warrior, and Williams handles it with confidence, charisma, and a lack of standard child actor tricks.

Next is Jodie Comer, whose Isla takes more of a central role in the film’s second half as she and Spike venture onto the mainland. Her body and mind wracked by her illness, Isla is trying to break through the fog that envelops her even as her memories splinter and merge. The excellent Comer portrays all this with great empathy and a tragic nobility, showing us why she’s one of the best actors to emerge in recent years.

Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

And then there’s Ralph Fiennes, whose Dr. Kelson seems genuinely eccentric and bizarrely funny when we first meet him, but who deepens into a figure of great compassion and dignity even if he walks around coated in iodine (“the Rage Virus doesn’t like it at all,” he notes). Fiennes brings his effortless gravitas to a role that could have been a stock nutty survivalist but is instead imbued with humanity and grace. His bone temple is a “memento mori,” a remembrance of the dead, that has a stark beauty all its own, and Fiennes’ work reflects that.

As for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, he’s fine. Sturdy, fearless, rugged, Jamie is a pillar of the community, a loving but tough dad, and unfortunately a flawed man who loses the trust of his son. But the character is not as deeply portrayed as the others, and largely sits out the second half of the movie. The other notable player is Edvin Ryding as Erik, a Swedish soldier who gets trapped on the mainland and spends some time with Spike and Isla. Ryding provides some welcome comic relief as he describes modern conveniences in the outside world that Spike has no idea exist – and gets a big laugh when she shows Spike a photo of his cosmetically enhanced girlfriend, whose filler-boosted face remains Spike of a friend’s allergic reaction to shellfish.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) being chased on the causeway in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Like ’28 Days Later,’ and unlike, say, the socio-politically minded zombie films of George A. Romero, ’28 Years Later’ shies away from sociological or political themes. Yet there is something here about the way that societies crumble so quickly and yet take so long to reform, as well as the way in which humans can fall so rapidly into savagery. There are tantalizing questions raised about who or what else lives on the mainland, as well as what exactly is going on in the outside world, some of which will perhaps be answered in ‘The Bone Temple’ or a third film.

But what these films do continue to be about – aside from Boyle and Garland providing audiences with an intense, heart-pounding experience from start to finish – is the way in which individual human beings will strive to be kind and do good even among the most horrific of circumstances. Whether it’s in 28 days, 28 weeks, or 28 years, this is a message that bears repeating.
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What is the plot of ’28 Years Later’?

It’s been almost three decades since the Rage Virus escaped a bioweapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. When one of a group of survivors leaves their heavily defended island on a mission to the mainland, he discovers horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.

Who is in the cast of ’28 Years Later’?
- Jodie Comer as Isla
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie
- Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Ian Kelson
- Alfie Williams as Spike
- Christopher Fulford as Sam
- Edvin Ryding as Erik Sundqvist
- Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson
- Jack O’Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal
Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.

Movies Similar to ‘28 Years Later’:
- ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
- ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1979)
- ‘Day of the Dead’ (1985)
- ‘28 Days Later‘ (2003)
- ‘Dawn of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘28 Weeks Later‘ (2007)
- ‘Zombieland‘ (2009)
- ‘World War Z‘ (2013)
- ‘Warm Bodies‘ (2013)
- ‘Army of the Dead‘ (2021)
Buy Tickets: ’28 Years Later’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Aaron Taylor-Johnson Movies on Amazon
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June 18, 2025
Bill Skarsgård and Murray Bartlett Join ‘The Death of Robin Hood’
(Left) Bill Skarsgård in ‘Boy Kills World’. Photo: Lionsgate. (Right) Murray Bartlett in ‘The Last of Us’. Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO.

Preview:
- Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett and Noah Jupe are joining ‘The Death of Robin Hood.’
- Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer will star.
- ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’s director Michael Sarnoski is overseeing the movie.
Movies and TV just can’t stay away from the British legend of Robin Hood –– the folk hero figure known for stealing from the rich to help the poor –– and you’d think that everything anyone would ever want to say about the character has already been covered.

That’s never been the case with Hood, though, with the most recent being the 2018 version starring Taron Egerton. And now here comes ‘Pig’ and ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ writer/director Michael Sarnoski, who has come up with his own version, ‘The Death of Robin Hood’.
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Crafted by Sarnoski before he even got the gig making the ‘Quiet Place’ prequel, the script is moving forward, and the director has already recruited Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer to star.

According to Variety, they’ll now be joined by the likes of Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett and Noah Jupe, playing unknown characters.

Related Article: Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer to Star in Period Tale ‘The Death of Robin Hood’

What’s the story of ‘The Death of Robin Hood’?

Hugh Jackman in ‘Logan’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

As has previously been reported, the title nods to a darker reimagining of the classic Robin Hood tale.

The film will see the title character grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, a battleworn loner who finds himself gravely injured and in the hands of a mysterious woman who offers him a chance at salvation.

Jackman, of course, will be Hood (in shades of his battered, older Wolverine in ‘Logan’), while Comer (known for the likes of ‘Killing Eve’ and ‘The Last Duel’) as the mystery woman.

‘The Death of Robin Hood’: The filmmakers speak

(L to R) Lupita Nyong’o as “Samira” and Director Michael Sarnoski in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ from Paramount Pictures.

Lyrical Media has stumped up the money to make the film, while Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett will produce under their Ryder Picture Company banner, alongside Alexander Black for Lyrical Media and Jackman. Lyrical’s Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers are executive producers alongside Rama Gottumukkala and Sarnoski.

Here’s what Sarnoski says about the movie:

“It has been an incredible opportunity to reinvent and freshly innovate the story we all know of Robin Hood. Securing the perfect cast to transform the script to screen was essential. I could not be more thrilled and trusting in Hugh and Jodie to bring this story to life in a powerful and meaningful way.”

And here are producers Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett:

“This is not the story of Robin Hood we’ve all come to know. Instead, Michael has crafted something far more grounded and visceral. Thanks to Alexander Black and our friends at Lyrical along with Rama and Michael, the world is going to love seeing Hugh and Jodie together in this epic.”

What have Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett and Noah Jupe been up to?

Noah Jupe in ‘Lady in the Lake,’ premiering July 19, 2024 on Apple TV+.

Skarsgård will probably be pleased to be playing a character that doesn’t require him to be slathered in prosthetic make-up following his turns as Pennywise the demon clown in the ‘It’ movies and, more recently, the title figure in Robert Eggers’ vampiric horror hit ‘Nosferatu.’

He is reprising the Pennywise role in the ‘It’ spin-off prequel TV series ‘Welcome to Derry,’ which will be on screens via HBO later this year.

And he has a few films awaiting release, including horror thriller ‘Locked’ about a thief breaking into a luxury SUV who gets more than he bargained for; historical revenge epic ‘Emperor’ in which he plays King Philip II of Spain and Gus Van Sant’s new crime drama ‘Dead Man’s Wire.’

The actor is also attached to Andrew Niccol’s ‘Lord of War’ sequel ‘Lords of War,’ which finds Nicolas Cage’s character discovering he has a son.

Bartlett, who scored an Emmy for his role as Armond the resort manager in Season 1 of ‘The White Lotus,’ has also gone on to acclaim for a memorable episode of ‘The Last of Us’ and based-on-truth TV series ‘Welcome to Chippendales.’

Coming up, he has roles in new drama ‘Opus’ about an offbeat, long-missing pop star who reappears seemingly leading a cult, musical epic ‘O’Dessa,’ following a young woman’s quest to retrieve a family heirloom, and ‘At the Sea,’ which finds a woman returning to her family home after a stint in rehab.

He’s also at work on the second season of ‘Nine Perfect Strangers,’ which once again stars Nicole Kidman.

And finally we have Jupe, who made his name starring in the first two ‘A Quiet Place’ movies (though doesn’t appear in ‘Day One’ since that focuses on different characters.)

He’s since appeared in the likes of ‘Honey Boy’ and will be part of the cast for the new season of ‘The Night Manager,’ which should arrive this year.

When will ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ be in theaters?

Production is kicking off this week in Ireland, which might explain the latest casting announcement.

A24 nabbed the domestic rights to the movie at last year’s Cannes Film Market, while True Brit Entertainment will be releasing the film in the U.K. and Ireland. There is, as of yet, no announced release date.

‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ writer and director Michael Sarnoski.

List of Michael Sarnoski Movies:
- ‘Pig‘ (2021)
- ‘A Quiet Place: Day One‘ (2024)
- ‘The Death of Robin Hood‘ (TBA)
Buy Michael Sarnoski Movies on Amazon
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February 13, 2025
Cillian Murphy Does Not Appear in ‘28 Years Later’
Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Preview:
- Cillian Murphy is not in new zombie outing ‘28 Years Later.’
- One of the infected who looks a little like him shows up in the trailer.
- Murphy is a producer behind the scenes.
We know him these days as the ‘Oppenheimer’ Oscar winner and star of the popular ‘Peaky Blinders’ crime series out of the UK (which itself has a big screen version on the way), but back in 2002, Cillian Murphy had a few film and TV credits to his name but broke out in a big way thanks to Danny Boyle’s horror thriller ‘28 Days Later,’ which drew praise for its inventive take on the zombie genre (more on that below), its guerilla filming style and intensity.

The movie spawned a sequel, 2007’s ‘28 Weeks Later,’ but Murphy didn’t return for that one, nor did Boyle or writer Alex Garland, aside from being executive producers.

Fast-forward a good few years to now and Boyle is back, alongside Garland (who has since gone on to enjoy a healthy directing career himself) for a new planned trilogy kicking off later this year with ‘28 Years Later.’ And following the launch of the first teaser trailer a few weeks ago speculation has been rife that Murphy shows up as a skeletally thin member of the infected.
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When in fact… it’s not him.

Producer Andrew Macdonald confirmed to Empire that the shambling creature is, in fact, not played by Murphy:

“On this, we wanted him to be involved and he wanted to be involved. He is not in the first film, but I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line. He’s involved at the moment as an executive producer, and I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy.”

As for Boyle, he told the film magazine that his partner warned him of the similarity…

“I showed my girlfriend the trailer and she said, ‘People will think that’s Cillian.’ I said, ‘Don’t be silly.’ I ignored her. So I’ve eaten a bit of humble pie since.”

What’s the story of ‘28 Days Later’?

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.

‘28 Days Later’ sees Murphy starring as Jim, a bike courier who has been in an accident and awakens from a coma to discover that London –– and the rest of the UK–– has been overtaken by a virus that turns its victims into rage-filled monsters who savage their victims.

While the “Z” word is never used, the Infected, for all their fast speed, are certainly a take on the genre.

‘28 Weeks Later’, which was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, picked up the story months later as the country is slowly cleared of the infected, with evacuated civilians returning –– even as the danger persists.

As the title suggests, ‘28 Years Later’ will then spin the clock forward nearly three decades to see what life is like for the people who are making a go of living in the country –– and the fact that while the Infected are still a threat, the original movie’s theme of man’s inhumanity to man, even in the case of a unifying situation, also emerges.

Boyle and Garland are back as director and writer for ‘28 Years,’ which is kicking off the new trilogy. The cast includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, Jack O’Connell, Erin Kellyman and Alfie Williams.

‘Candyman’s Nia DaCosta has picked up the baton, directing ‘28 Years: The Bone Temple.’ The third movie has yet to be detailed.

Related Article: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes on for ‘28 Years Later’

Who is the “Infected” in the trailer?

Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

After the internet lit up with chatter about the Infected in the trailer looking strikingly like Murphy, British art director Angus Neill told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that he’s behind the prosthetic:

“Danny told me he’d always had me in mind for the role. So we met up, hit it off, and I agreed to take part. On set he has an extraordinary ability to hypnotize you and working with him on the film was a very, very intense experience.”

You can see Neill’s professional Instagram listing here:

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While Sony Pictures has yet to officially comment, Neill certainly looks the part.

Where can I see Cillian Murphy, then?

Cillian Murphy in ‘Peaky Blinders’. Photo: Netflix.

It’s not like Murphy is hurting for work –– he was in demand even before Christopher Nolan directed him to an Academy Award.

Murphy was most recently seen in indie title ‘Small Things Like These,’ which itself is drawing some awards attention.

He will be back on our screens in the aforementioned ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie for Netflix, reprising the role of crime boss Tommy Shelby. The film has yet to confirm a launch date.

Then there’s comedy drama ‘Steve,’ in which he plays the titular headteacher who is battling for his reform college’s survival while managing his mental health.

Finally, he’s attached to star in based-on-truth crime/mining drama ‘Blood Runs Coal.’

When will ‘28 Years Later’ be in theaters?

‘28 Years Later’ is currently scheduled to infect theaters on June 20th.

DaCosta’s ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ meanwhile, will follow on January 16th, 2026.

(L to R) Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner in ’28 Weeks Later’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

Movies Similar to ‘28 Years Later’:
- ‘28 Days Later‘ (2003)
- ‘Dawn of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘28 Weeks Later‘ (2007)
- ‘Zombieland‘ (2009)
- ‘World War Z‘ (2013)
- ‘Warm Bodies‘ (2013)
- ‘Army of the Dead‘ (2021)
Buy ‘28 Days Later‘ on Amazon
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January 13, 2025
‘The Bikeriders’ Digital Release Interview: Jeff Nichols
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Available to own or rent at home beginning July 9th is the new film ‘The Bikeriders,’ which was written and directed by Jeff Nichols (‘Mud,’ ‘Loving’) and based on the book of the same name by author Danny Lyon.

The movie features an all-star cast that includes Jodie Comer (‘Free Guy’), Austin Butler (‘Elvis’), Tom Hardy (‘Venom’), Michael Shannon (‘Man of Steel’), Mike Faist (“Challengers’), Boyd Holbrook (‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’), and Norman Reedus (‘The Walking Dead’).

(L to R) Director of photography Adam Stone, actor Austin Butler and director Jeff Nichols on the set of ‘The Bikeriders’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

Related Article: Movie Review: ‘The Bikeriders’

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Jeff Nichols about the digital release of ‘The Bikeriders’, his passion for the project, the structure of the film, Jodie Comer and Austin Butler’s onscreen chemistry, Tom Hardy’s performance, the challenges of shooting the motorcycle scenes, and why he loves working with Michael Shannon.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with director Jeff Nichols.

Director Jeff Nichols talks ‘The Bikeriders,’ which is available to own or rent at home beginning July 9th.

Moviefone: To begin with, I know that making ‘The Bikeriders’ was a long passion project for you. Now that the movie is finishing its theatrical run and about to be released on digital, how does it feel to know that audiences are finally seeing this film?

Jeff Nichols: It feels great. The responses that I think I appreciate the most are from people involved in motorcycle culture, not having grown up in that culture and around bikes, especially not growing up in the Midwest, growing up in the American South. Anytime someone says, “Hey, I grew up in Chicago in the 60s and my dad rode bikes, or I was around bikes, and man, you just nailed it.” Like any comments, and I’ve gotten a few of those. They seem to mean the most to me just because it is a kind of pat on the back and it’s a little bit of validation to all the work we did. So yeah, that’s it. I think that’s the thing that’s been most enjoyable for me.

(L to R) Jodie Comer stars as Kathy, director Jeff Nichols and Austin Butler as Benny on the set of ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Can you talk about what attracted you to this specific material and why were you so passionate about getting this movie made?

JN: Look, honestly, it’s because of the people contained inside Danny’s book. You could say it’s the bikes and the hair and the clothes, that’s certainly something I was attracted to, but the truth is, in these interviews, they just felt like real people because they were. They felt like people trying to understand their place in the world, and that was very attractive to me, even more attractive than the bikes and the clothes and the hair, which was damn attractive. I think as a storyteller, you’re looking for human beings and you’re looking for human behavior that people can relate to, and they can say, “I know someone like that”, or “I am like that”, this is our connection through cinema. When I looked at Danny’s book and I read those interviews, I saw people and I saw behavior that I felt like people could connect to.

(L to R) Mike Faist as Danny and Jodie Comer as Kathy in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders’. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All RIghts Reserved.

MF: Can you talk about the choice of telling the story from Kathy’s point of view and utilizing a documentary structure?

JN: The truth is Kathy was just the most interesting one in the book. Her interviews, they just kind of glow and it’s because she’s completely unfiltered. Jodie said something interesting about it. She said, “It’s almost like no one ever asked Kathy what she thought about things until Danny Lyon showed up.” It was a big statement for me to hear. Yeah, this woman in the 1960s, it’s like no one had ever bothered to ask her opinion about anything, and she was ready to give it, and she did in this kind of unvarnished, completely unfiltered way. I think it was undeniable as someone looking at the book to say, “Well, she needs to be the one to take us through this world.” Not because she’s an observer, it’s because she’s a participant. It’s because she’s dealing with the same thing that these guys are dealing with, which is this tension between romance and attraction and violence, which is kind of held in the motorcycle and it’s held in the motorcycle club. As far as the documentary style, it was a real challenge for me as a filmmaker. A lot of my films are classical in the directing style. They’re very linear in the storytelling style. Part of the challenge for me as a filmmaker was, I wanted this to feel like maybe a documentary crew went back in time and captured half of this movie at least. There are certainly scenes that start to fall into more of a narrative feel, but I wanted parts of it to feel like a documentary, which is why beyond even just Kathy’s interviews, you’re having portraiture with these guys sitting on their bikes kind of explaining things. It was very much set up to feel like a documentary for, like I said, about half of the film. At some point you wake up into the narrative and you have a better understanding of these characters because of the time you’ve spent with them. It was a strange tightrope to try to walk as a storyteller and as a writer, but one I’m proud of in the film.

(L to R) Austin Butler as Benny and Jodie Comer as Kathy in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Can you talk about Kathy and Benny’s love story and the incredible chemistry that Austin Butler and Jodie Comer have together onscreen?

JN: These things are magical, and I don’t mean to get kind of too dreamy with my answer, but as a filmmaker, you have very real things in front of you, budgets and schedules, actors, and you look at them and you say, “You look good and you’re a good actor. Let’s see what happens when I put you with this other person”, and then this thing happens. Part of it is they’re both just so talented, but they’re also just so charismatic. I found this with Ruth Negga on ‘Loving’, Jodie’s eyes are disproportionately sized to the rest of her face, which makes her perfect to put on camera because there’s so much information going on inside of her eyes. It’s just a beautiful thing to watch. Then you have Austin who has this supreme control over what he’s doing. When he walks into that bar, turns that chair in and sits down, it looks like something I’ve seen in cinema lexicon, that feels like it’s existed for 60 years. I knew we had something special, and I wish I could tell you that I engineered it and all these other things. It is a magical thing that happens when you put the right people together in the right setting and the right project, and it happened right in front of my eyes, and it was incredible to watch.

Austin Butler as Benny in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Can you talk about the challenges of shooting the motorcycle scenes and because of the period setting of the movie, needing to have very famous actors ride bikes without helmets? Was it difficult just getting insurance for the film?

JN: It was. We had a person on set whose whole job was just to coordinate with the insurance companies. At some point we collectively, the actors, the production, the studio, the insurance companies, everyone had to just accept a certain amount of risk, which as a director is terrifying because we’re just making a movie. It’s not worth hurting anyone, but when you put people on motorcycles, you’re never going to reach zero risk. So basically, we collectively had to accept that there was risk, and then move from there, do everything possible from there to make this experience as safe as possible. It was terrifying, I mean, it took years off my life. You film those scenes the way that you film stunt sequences, if you get it right, you’re done. That’s your one shot. You don’t go back for another take, to just see if something else happens, you just get it. Like the bike shot of Austin, I believe we did that in two takes and I would’ve loved a third take, but we got it in the first take, and it was like, “We’re not going to do that again. We’re going to let this be.” The truth is a lot of that credit goes to our actors for the time they spent training on those bikes. Again, you must give credit to Austin, who’s not a stunt performer. He hasn’t been on these bikes for that long, but he makes himself look so comfortable while he’s riding. That is acting because I guarantee you, he doesn’t feel that comfortable on that bike. But he sold it and I’m so proud that we did it that way. I’m so proud that it’s in the film. In an age where everything is CG, everything is fake, I can’t help but think people will show up and watch this film and know somewhere in their brains that we did that.

Tom Hardy stars as Johnny in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

MF: In the film, Tom Hardy’s Johnny is inspired to start the motorcycle club after watching Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild One’ and it seemed like Hardy was channeling Brando for his performance. Is that accurate and is that something you talked about with him?

JN: Yeah, it was a bit of his calculus. I think Jodie was sharing audio clips with me all along of the work that she was doing, but that’s because she had about an hour of actual audio of the real Kathy. So, she had something specific to go off. Tom didn’t. There was only one interview with the real Johnny, and we didn’t really like his voice. So, Tom was kind of, he had all the other audio examples to listen to, so he knew the world that he’d be living in, but he wanted to develop something for his character. What he kept saying to me was that he can’t be half a gangster. That seemed to be the mantra that he applied to his character, meaning this guy is, he’s not really a gang leader. He’s a guy that’s posing as a motorcycle gang leader, and that’s going to come back on him at some point because he’s not really built for this world. He’s playing a part. So, you have Tom Hardy playing the part of a person playing a part. Tom very clearly was like, “I think this guy grew up on movies. I think he grew up watching James Cagney. I think he grew up watching Marlon Brando, and I think he is putting on a persona.” So, he very intentionally took his voice into that higher inflection, and basically, it’s Johnny doing Brando. I didn’t hear his voice until the first day on set, and he only had a couple lines, and we kind of huddled afterwards. He said, “What do you think?” For me, it was like Domino’s kind of falling backward because I understood we had had all these conversations. I understood exactly what he’s connecting to. It’s like, “I think it’s great, man. Just go with it.” It adds this odd vulnerability to that character. Imagine him only just being gruff, it is less interesting, I think, in my opinion.

Michael Shannon as Zipco in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Bikeriders’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, you’ve cast Michael Shannon in every movie you’ve ever directed. Can you talk about why you love working with him and having him on your sets?

JN: Well, the set part, he adds a level of focus to everybody. We filmed his two monologues in the first week and getting this incredible group of actors together, who I’m not familiar with, who I haven’t done a lot of work with, but having everybody sit around and listen to Mike give a monologue, two monologues in a Jeff Nichols film, it was like a grounding force to the whole production, and it kind of set the bar. It was like, “Okay, we’re in a Jeff Nichols film now. We just heard Mike Shannon give a monologue”. I know that the younger actors look up to him, but Tom as well. He and Tom, I think I’ll get this correctly, they used to be in an acting troop together that Philip Seymour Hoffman led, so they knew each other. Austin tells a great story of about three takes in on Mike’s first monologue, the one leaning on the bike, Tom leaned into him and said, “Oh, he’s in it now.” It was a great actor recognizing another great actor for being in the moment. That’s always the case with Mike. I’ve learned to direct because of Mike, and the truth is he makes me look better. He makes my dialogue better. He’s so thoughtful. But you hear a lot about these actors that they’ll show up and rip out the script pages and start to do their own thing. Look, to each their own, but Mike has a tremendous amount of respect for the words that I write. He knows how much time I spend, and he likes the words I write. They make sense to him the way that I think and the way that I write dialogue and character behavior and movement, they seem to make sense to Mike. So, when he shows up, he’s taking what’s on the page and just bringing it to life in a way that I love the way it looks and sounds and moves. He makes all my work better every time. He doesn’t miss.
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What is the plot of ‘The Bikeriders’?

‘The Bikeriders’ captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy). Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Bikeriders’?
- Jodie Comer as Kathy
- Austin Butler as Benny
- Tom Hardy as Johnny
- Michael Shannon as Zipco
- Mike Faist as Danny Lyon
- Boyd Holbrook as Cal
- Damon Herriman as Brucie
- Beau Knapp as Wahoo
- Emory Cohen as Cockroach
- Karl Glusman as Corky
- Toby Wallace as The Kid
- Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny
‘The Bikeriders’ will be available to own or rent at home beginning July 9th.

Movies Similar to ‘The Bikeriders’:
- ‘The Wild One‘ (1953)
- ‘Rebel Without a Cause‘ (1955)
- ‘The Wild Angels‘ (1966)
- ‘Easy Rider‘ (1969)
- ‘Electra Glide in Blue‘ (1973)
- ‘Deuces Wild‘ (2002)
- ‘Biker Boyz‘ (2003)
- ‘Torque‘ (2004)
- ‘Ghost Rider‘ (2007)
- ‘The Place Beyond the Pines‘ (2013)
- ‘Outlaws‘ (2017)
Buy Austin Butler Movies On Amazon
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July 16, 2024
Movie Review: ‘The Bikeriders’
Austin Butler stars as Benny in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Opening in theaters June 21st is ‘The Bikeriders,’ directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Mike Faist, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, and Norman Reedus.

Related Article: ‘The Bikeriders’ Moves Off Original Opening Date In Midst Of SAG-AFTRA Strike

Initial Thoughts

Motorcycle club culture remains an enigma to most people; to some, it represents freedom and the ability to live outside the mainstream, while to others it appears to be a dangerous and even criminal lifestyle. Set in the 1960s, ‘The Bikeriders’ balances right on the cusp of those two extremes, with writer-director Jeff Nichols chronicling the history of a (semi-fictional) biker club and the people in its orbit navigating both a changing American landscape and the nature of their community itself.

Bolstered by several great performances from Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and the supporting cast, ‘The Bikeriders’ is always entertaining and often fascinating. But its shifting point of view and meandering narrative keep it from becoming the great American epic that Nichols clearly wants to make.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Jodie Comer stars as Kathy, director Jeff Nichols and Austin Butler as Benny on the set of ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

In 1968, photojournalist Danny Lyon published a book called ‘The Bikeriders,’ which illustrated through photos and text the four years he spent with a motorcycle club known as the Chicago Outlaws. Jeff Nichols, writer-director of ‘Mud,’ ‘Loving,’ and ‘Take Shelter,’ was inspired by Lyon’s book to create a fictional club, the Vandals, incorporating elements of Lyon’s book and versions of the real-life club members into the rambling narrative of his first feature film in seven years.

Lyon appears in the movie as well, played by Mike Faist (‘Challengers’), and it’s his interviews that in some ways form the spine of the film. Much of it is told in flashback by Kathy (Jodie Comer), a blue-collar Midwestern girl who meets and falls in love with (and eventually marries) Benny (Austin Butler), a brooding, charming Vandals member who is the protégé of Johnny (Tom Hardy), the founder and leader of the club.

Kathy is our way into the story, but it’s here that Nichols’ narrative structure begins to run into problems. With much of the story told from her viewpoint, we never quite get into the inner workings of either Benny or Johnny, the two men who dominate both her life and that of the club. We learn that Johnny – who has a wife and two daughters – decides to form the Vandals after watching the Marlon Brando movie ‘The Wild One’ on television one night. Most of the members of the club are working class, but it’s hinted that Benny – who is as non-verbal as a person can be – comes from a more prosperous background that he’s estranged from. Do these men congregate in the Vandals as a means of rebellion? Or to find a surrogate family? It’s never really made clear.

(L to R) Jodie Comer as Kathy and Austin Butler as Benny in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

What is clear is that the club slowly begins to evolve from a kind of weekend hobby into a criminal organization, attracting more unsavory characters and activities into its orbit. After Benny is almost beaten to death when he walks into a rival bar wearing the gang’s colors, Kathy wants him to quit. But of course, the Vandals are the means through which Benny finds identity and purpose, and he’s also being groomed by Johnny to take over when the latter retires, although why Johnny’s motivations for wanting to bow out are murky at best.

The heart of the film is the tug-of-war between Kathy and Johnny for Benny’s love and loyalty, set against the shifting societal background of late ‘60s America and the changing nature of the club and its purpose. Yet the way in which Nichols tells the story, shifting back and forth in time and never quite allowing us to get into the heads of either Johnny or Benny, makes for a story that lacks urgency or drama, with the allure of the club itself and the stakes for its members never as forcefully presented as they should be.

Despite its structural flaws, ‘The Bikeriders’ still manages to be an entertaining watch. The film is bursting with exacting period details, and Nichols recreates the ramshackle late ‘60s milieu of Midwestern suburban, blue-collar enclaves, rundown homes, and darkened, grimy bars with perfectly immersive effect. And you can’t help but be fascinated, amused, and sometimes gripped by the antics of the club and its members, although Nichols never quite allows the film or its characters to make the case strongly enough for what draws them to this lifestyle.

The Cast

Jodie Comer stars as Kathy in Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features ©2024 All Rights Reserved.

While most of the characters are thinly drawn, Jodie Comer’s Kathy is the exception: Comer is outstanding as the no-nonsense, plainspoken, common-sense-smart Midwestern woman who is pulled in a feral way toward Benny and who can appreciate the protective, strength-in-numbers nature of the club (never more so than in a harrowing scene when some bikers who crash a Vandals party try to rape her).

At the same time, Kathy’s eyes are always open to the changes in Benny, Johnny, and the Vandals. For her it’s not just matter of love, but practicality: she wants her husband to live, and their lives to stabilize. Through her voice (and dead-on accent), her reliable way of telling the story, and her agency in dealing with both Benny and Johnny, Kathy proves that she knows who she is and what her life has become, and how to change it. Comer shines throughout the film, her expressive eyes and collected demeanor telling us plenty about this engaging woman.

Tom Hardy stars as Johnny in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

As for the two men in her life, Tom Hardy kind of grunts and mumbles his way through a lot of the movie as a man who has never truly learned to express himself until he got on a bike, and for whom the Vandals may be the greatest thing he ever created, until it’s not. But even with minimal dialogue, Hardy is always such a formidable presence that he captures Johnny’s quiet strength and fearlessness effortlessly. Even though he becomes a criminal, one can almost empathize with Johnny thanks to his steadfast loyalty and unwavering devotion to his own ways (even as the other bikers grow their hair long, Johnny keeps his greased back, just as he saw it in ‘The Wild One’).

Austin Butler’s Benny is less successfully fleshed out, and of the three main players has the least to do. He basically broods, sulks, and occasionally lashes out in anger, his own motivations hidden behind a curtain of tics and poses. Butler, so electrifying in ‘Elvis’ and ‘Dune: Part Two,’ is still charismatic here, but he’s the weakest link in the dramatic triangle of Kathy, Johnny, and Benny, only because he’s pulled between the two yet doesn’t offer enough insight into what he really wants.

While much of the supporting cast, meaning basically the members of the Vandals, don’t get a chance to differentiate themselves from their compatriots, two stand out: Nichols muse Michael Shannon is excellent as always as Zipco, the often hilarious yet clearly unstable wild card of the gang, while Norman Reedus puts Daryl Dixon on steroids as Funny Sonny, a California biker who comes out to Chicago to scope out the Vandals and ends up hanging on with them (in one amusing scene, he even gets paid to stand outside a movie theater and encourage passers-by to go in and watch ‘Easy Rider’).

Final Thoughts

Austin Butler stars as Benny in director Jeff Nichols’ ‘The Bikeriders,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff Nichols seems to be going for an objective portrait of the Vandals with ‘The Bikeriders’: he wants to document this lifestyle without passing judgment on it. But that leaves the movie without a point of view: the sheer freedom and exhilaration of the lifestyle is never quite captured, leaving us more often with a view of the Vandals’ grubby, hand-to-mouth, dissolute existence. The fall of the Vandals might be more tragic if we got a sense of what made being part of the gang – or any club of this kind – so compelling.

Even at over two hours, ‘The Bikeriders’ feels in the end like a series of sketches that never quite add up to the story that Nichols seems to want to tell. In this case, a limited series might have worked better, giving us a chance to dig into the characters’ lives and the existence of the club with more clarity and understanding. As it stands, ‘The Bikeriders’ is like a photo book with no accompanying text: intriguing and often arresting to look at, without enough context of what we’re seeing.

‘The Bikeriders’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘The Bikeriders’?

In the late 1960s, Kathy (Jodie Comer) begins a relationship with Benny (Austin Butler), a member of the Chicago Vandals motorcycle club led by Johnny (Tom Hardy). The couple’s ups and downs parallel that of the club as they go through a turbulent period of transformation and growth.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Bikeriders’?
- Jodie Comer as Kathy
- Austin Butler as Benny
- Tom Hardy as Johnny
- Michael Shannon as Zipco
- Mike Faist as Danny Lyon
- Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny
- Boyd Holbrook as Cal
‘The Bikeriders,’ directed by Jeff Nichols, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Movies Similar to ‘The Bikeriders’:
- ‘The Wild One‘ (1953)
- ‘Rebel Without a Cause‘ (1955)
- ‘The Wild Angels‘ (1966)
- ‘Easy Rider‘ (1969)
- ‘Electra Glide in Blue‘ (1973)
- ‘Deuces Wild‘ (2002)
- ‘Biker Boyz‘ (2003)
- ‘Torque‘ (2004)
- ‘Ghost Rider‘ (2007)
- ‘The Place Beyond the Pines‘ (2013)
- ‘Outlaws‘ (2017)
Buy Austin Butler Movies On Amazon
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June 17, 2024
Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer starring in Robin Hood Re-Imagining
(Left) Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool and Wolverine. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL. (Right) Jodie Comer as Kathy in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Bikeriders’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Preview:
- Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer will star in ‘The Death of Robin Hood’.
- ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’s director Michael Sarnoski is overseeing the movie.
- It’ll see a gravely injured Robin grappling with his past.
You think that, after any number of movies and TV series about UK folk legend Robin Hood –– you know, the forest-dwelling, Lincoln Green-sporting warrior who became known for stealing from the rich to help the poor –– that everything anyone would ever want to say about the character has already been covered. Surely, by the time you reach a Mel Brooks parody movie, you’ve hit pop cultural apotheosis, right?

That’s never been the case with Hood, though, with the most recent being the 2018 version starring Taron Egerton. And now here comes ‘Pig’ and ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ writer/director Michael Sarnoski, who has come up with his own version, ‘The Death of Robin Hood’.

And he’s got quite the cast headlining this one, with Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer aboard to star.

Related Article: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes on for ‘28 Years Later’

What’s the story of ‘The Death of Robin Hood’?

Douglas Fairbanks in 1922’s ‘Robin Hood’. Photo: United Artists.

According to Deadline, this is a darker reimagining of the classic Robin Hood tale. The film will see the title character grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, a battleworn loner who finds himself gravely injured and in the hands of a mysterious woman who offers him a chance at salvation.

Jackman, of course, will be Hood (in shades of his battered, older Wolverine in ‘Logan’), while Comer (known for the likes of ‘Killing Eve’ and ‘The Last Duel’) as the mystery woman.

‘The Death of Robin Hood’: The filmmakers speak

(L to R) Lupita Nyong’o as “Samira” and Joseph Quinn as “Eric” in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ from Paramount Pictures. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Here’s what Sarnoski says about the movie:

“It has been an incredible opportunity to reinvent and freshly innovate the story we all know of Robin Hood. Securing the perfect cast to transform the script to screen was essential. I could not be more thrilled and trusting in Hugh and Jodie to bring this story to life in a powerful and meaningful way.”

And here are producers Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett:

“This is not the story of Robin Hood we’ve all come to know. Instead, Michael has crafted something far more grounded and visceral. Thanks to Alexander Black and our friends at Lyrical along with Rama and Michael, the world is going to love seeing Hugh and Jodie together in this epic.”

Lyrical Media has stumped up the finance for the movie.

When ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ be in theaters?

With production due to kick off in February next year, we wouldn’t expect this one until either late 2025 or some time in 2026. The rights to distribute the movie will be on sale at this month’s Cannes Market.

Taron Egerton in 2018’s ‘Robin Hood’. Photo: Lionsgate.

Other Movies and TV Shows Similar to ‘The Death of Robin Hood’:
- ‘Robin Hood‘ (1922)
- ‘Robin Hood The Movie‘ (1955)
- ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood‘ (1955 – 1960)
- ‘Robin Hood‘ (1973)
- ‘Time Bandits‘ (1981)
- ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves‘ (1991)
- ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights‘ (1993)
- ‘Robin Hood‘ (2006 – 2009)
- ‘Robin Hood‘ (2010)
- ‘Robin Hood‘ (2018)
Buy Robin Hood Movies On Amazon
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May 6, 2024
Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson Starring in ‘28 Years Later’
(Left) Jodie Comer as Kathy in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Bikeriders’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. (Center) Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter in ‘Kraven the Hunter.’ (Right) Ralph Fiennes in Searchlight Pictures’ ‘The Menu.’

Preview:
- Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes are starring in ‘28 Years Later’
- Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are behind the new movie.
- Sony is distributing the movie, the start of a trilogy of films.
After many years in the wild weeds of speculation and rumor, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland finally confirmed that they’re getting back to the world they created with 2002’s ‘28 Days Later’ for a brand new follow-up called ‘28 Years Later’.

And far from just making one movie, their plan is actually to launch a trilogy, with Garland writing all three and Boyle directing the first. The initial round of casting has begun with Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes joining the movie per Deadline.
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What’s the story of the ‘28 Days Later’ movies?

Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

2002’s original movie saw Cillian Murphy playing Jim, a bicycle courier left in a coma after an accident. He awakes nearly a month later to discover London and the wider world have gone to hell after animal rights activists released a chimp infected with a virulent, genetically engineered plague that has spread to the population, leaving the city near deserted and haunted by roving packs of the rage-driven ‘infected’.

That was followed by ‘28 Weeks Later’ in 2007, which saw Juan Carlos Fresnadillo taking over directorial duties, with Boyle and Garland stepping back to be executive producers. The sequel is set as American forces arrive to help clean up Britain, civilians caught in the crossfire between soldiers and the remaining infected.

While the plot of the new movie is being kept under wraps for now, the title points to picking up the story decades after the original and seeing what has happened to the country since then. We’re guessing nothing good, but with Boyle and Garland involved, it’ll be entertaining finding out.

Who are the new actors playing?

(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.

As with the story info, we don’t yet know who the three new actors will be doing in the movie –– but they’re interesting nonetheless, since the 2002 entry was largely cast with rising stars and a few veterans sprinkled into the mix.

While Comer and Taylor-Johnson aren’t exactly veterans, they’re well established –– and that goes without saying for Fiennes.

Related Article: Nia DaCosta in Talks to Direct Part Two of ‘28 Years Later’ Trilogy

What’s happening with the ‘28 Years Later’ trilogy?

‘The Marvels’ director Nia DeCosta.

With Boyle taking on the first movie, the plan is for him to direct it this year and for production of the second to kick off once the first has wrapped to ensure continuity of storytelling while each director will bring their visual stamp to their movie.

Nia DaCosta, who handled last year’s ‘The Marvels’ and 2019’s ‘Candyman’ follow-up was reported in talks earlier this month, and according to Deadline’s new story, she’s aboard to direct the second movie.

When will ‘28 Years Later’ be in theaters?

Sony, which won the rights to produce and distribute the new movies, has yet to announce a release date for any of them.

Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Movies Similar to ‘28 Years Later’:
- ‘28 Days Later‘ (2003)
- ‘Dawn of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ (2004)
- ‘28 Weeks Later‘ (2007)
- ‘Zombieland‘ (2009)
- ‘World War Z‘ (2013)
- ‘Warm Bodies‘ (2013)
- ‘Army of the Dead‘ (2021)
Buy ‘28 Days Later‘ on Amazon
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April 25, 2024
An ‘American Psycho’ Remake is in Development
Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho.’ Photo: Lionsgate Films.

Preview:
- Lionsgate is looking to make a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho’.
- The movie is at a very embryonic stage.
- A remake of ‘The Dead Zone’ is also under discussion.
In 2000, Christian Bale hacked his way into cinematic history as the psychopathic Wall St. type Patrick Bateman, who shoved the “anti” well and truly into antihero for the adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ scathing satire of 1980s masculinity and consumer culture, ‘American Psycho’.

The movie, directed by Mary Harron based on a script she wrote with Guinevere Turner, has become a cult favorite, even as it faced criticism at the time for its seeming sexist attitude (an attitude it was entirely satirizing).

And it was followed by a hasty, wedged-together sequel, ‘American Psycho II: All American Girl’, which had pretty much zero to do with the original, Lionsgate essentially repurposing an unconnected script in an attempt to cash in on the success of Harron’s movie.

Now, though, the studio is aiming to take another crack at Ellis’ story.
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What’s the story of ‘American Psycho’?

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho.’ Photo: Lionsgate Films.

‘American Psycho’ follows Bateman, a wealthy New York City investment banking executive, who hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

The movie also starred Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Jared Leto, Chloë Sevigny and Reese Witherspoon.

Related Article: Christian Bale Talks Director David O. Russell’s ‘Amsterdam’

What is Lionsgate planning with ‘American Psycho’?

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho.’ Photo: Lionsgate Films.

According to Jeff Sneider’s The InSneider newsletter, Lionsgate is going the remake route, meeting writers to hear ideas for a new movie adaptation –– one that is crucially set in the present day.

While there’s a chance that losing the ‘80s consumerism critique might be an issue, there is plenty to be said about today’s politically-divided, corporate cronyism and social media-obsessed world. It’ll just need a smart writer to draw it out.

Who would star in the new movie?

Jacob Elordi on HBO’s ‘Euphoria.’

Though it is certainly far from the casting stage, that hasn’t stopped the ‘net from fan-casting the Bateman role, including gender-flipped versions starring Allison Williams or Jodie Comer, and the more predictable likes of Jacob Elordi and Glenn Howerton.

What else is under discussion for a remake?

Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith in ‘The Dead Zone.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.

In addition to ‘American Psycho’, Lionsgate is also considering a new adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Dead Zone’.

The story focuses on high school teacher Johnny Smith, who wakes from a coma after a car accident to discover he has lost five years of his life and psychic powers. Foreseeing the future appears to be a gift at first but ends up causing problems.

David Cronenberg directed the 1983 big screen take on the story (with Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith), while a TV adaptation ran between 2002 and 2007, starring Anthony Michael Hall.

Much like the ‘Psycho’ plan, the ‘Dead Zone’ remake is still at a very early stage, with the studio looking for a writer.

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho.’ Photo: Lionsgate Films.

Other Movies Similar to ‘American Psycho’:
- ‘Falling Down‘ (1993)
- ‘Se7en‘ (1995)
- ‘Twelve Monkeys‘ (1995)
- ‘Fight Club‘ (1999)
- ‘Eyes Wide Shut‘ (1999)
- ‘American Psycho‘ (2000)
- ‘Memento‘ (2001)
- ‘Donnie Darko‘ (2001)
- ‘American Psycho II: All American Girl‘ (2002)
- ‘Insomnia‘ (2002)
- ‘Prisoners‘ (2013)
- ‘The Wolf of Wall Street‘ (2013)
- ‘Enemy‘ (2014)
- ‘Nightcrawler‘ (2014)
Buy ‘American Psycho’ Movie on Amazon
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February 26, 2024
‘The Bikeriders’ Moves From Its Planned December 1st Launch
Austin Butler as Benny in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Bikeriders’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Preview
- Who is in the cast of ‘The Bikeriders’
- The movie will campaign for Best Original Screenplay in the upcoming award season
- The studio is citing the SAG-AFTRA as the reason for the delay, as actors are currently prohibited from doing promotional work or publicity.
Jeff Nichols’ upcoming film has been moved off its original release date of December 1, 2023, with no new release date on the calendar.

’The Bikeriders’ will star Austin Butler (‘Elvis’) as Benny, Tom Hardy (‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’) as Johnny, Jodie Comer (‘The Last Duel’) as Kathy, Michael Shannon (‘Amsterdam’) as Zipco, Mike Faist (‘West Side Story’) as Danny Lyon, Norman Reedus (‘The Walking Dead’) as Funny Sonny, and Boyd Holbrook (‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’) as Cal.
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What Is ‘The Bikeriders’ About?

Austin Butler as Benny in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Bikeriders.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, the movie is inspired by the photo and interview book by Danny Lyons. It was published in 1968 and is filled with black-and-white photographs and interviews with members of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

The official synopsis for the movie:

“The Bikeriders” is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members. Inspired by Danny Lyon’s iconic book of photography, “The Bikeriders” immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders. Kathy (Jodie Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Austin Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Tom Hardy). Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.”

According to Variety, even though the film is based on Lyons’ book of the same name, the WGA has classified it as original work, and the studio will campaign for Best Original Screenplay for the awards season.

Related Article: ‘The Bikeriders’ Trailer

The SAG-AFTRA Strike Cite As Reason For Date Change

SAG-AFTRA on strike. Photo courtesy of SAG-AFTRA.

The studio is citing the actors’ strike for the change in the movie’s release schedule, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. As actors are prohibited from doing any sort of promotional work or publicity during the strike, perhaps the right decision is to wait for the strike to end so the star-studded cast can talk about the movie.

However, with the talks between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP halting, there’s no telling when this strike will be over.

‘The Bikeriders’ would have also shared an opening weekend with Beyoncé’s concert movie ‘Renaissance’, and given how successful Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ movie is at the box office, it gives an additional reason for moving the film off its original release date.

20th Century Studios’ ‘The Bikeriders’ opens in theaters on December 1st.

Movies Similar to ‘The Bikeriders’:
- ‘The Wild One‘ (1953)
- ‘Rebel Without a Cause‘ (1955)
- ‘The Wild Angels‘ (1966)
- ‘Electra Glide in Blue‘ (1973)
- ‘Deuces Wild‘ (2002)
- ‘Biker Boyz‘ (2003)
- ‘Torque‘ (2004)
- ‘Ghost Rider‘ (2007)
- ‘The Place Beyond the Pines‘ (2013)
- ‘Outlaws‘ (2017)
Buy Austin Butler Movies On Amazon
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October 19, 2023