28 Years Later's Cillian Murphy Return Was Set Up By The Original Movie's Ending Change

The theatrical ending for 28 Days Later was different from the original ending that was planned, but that change opened the door for Cillian Murphy to return for 28 Years Later. The theatrical ending shows Cillian Murphy's Jim being shot by Christopher Eccleston's Major West, but a time jump shows that Jim survived his wound and settled at a house with Selena and Hannah. The movie ends with them signaling to a plane flying overhead, hoping to be rescued and escape the infected England. However, director Danny Boyle originally intended a far more haunting ending to 28 Days Later.

Boyle even went so far as to shoot one of a number of alternative outcomes. The common thread in all the alternate endings was that Jim dies, and Boyle actually shot an ending where Jim dies of his gunshot wound. Since the release of 28 Days Later, both alternatives have been championed--the happy, hopeful, theatrical ending and the more emotionally-powerful one featuring Jim's death. With 28 Years Later poised to kick off a potential new trilogy with Cillian Murphy returning the franchise, the theatrical ending choice appears to be paying off.

Why 28 Days Later Changed Its Original Ending

Director Danny Boyle wanted to imply that the story could continue on.

Despite speculation that the ending was changed due to studio pressure or test audiences, Danny Boyle confirmed in the commentary for 28 Days Later that he ultimately made the change to keep Jim alive so that the story could possibly go on. The groundbreaking 2002 movie changed the zombie genre, introducing fast, somewhat-conscious zombies as opposed to the mindless, ambling iterations of the past. The narrative of 28 Days Later only focused on a small part of England, meaning there was an entire world of consequences and effects of the rage virus to explore.

With so much of the world that he created left unexplored, and so many questions left unanswered, it makes total sense that Boyle would ultimately opt for an ending that leaves room for expansion. Fox followed through on that concept with 28 Weeks Later, but with none of the original cast (or Boyle) returning, it was more of a spiritual sequel than a continuation of the story started in 28 Days Later. 28 Years Later has the opportunity to directly pick up the narrative that began with Jim, Selena and Hannah in England.

28 Days Later's Ending Change Meant 28 Years Later Was Always Possible

Jim, Selena and Hannah's survival left the door open for their return.

Both the theatrical ending and Boyle's original alternate ending had Selena and Hannah surviving the encounter with the soldiers chronicled in 28 Days Later. The key difference was that Jim didn't survive the gunshot wound from Major West. Even with Jim's death, the story could have continued with Selena and Hannah, and followed their path after their escape from the soldiers' compound.

However, changing it so that all three characters survive made 28 Years Later possible way back in 2002. Jim's heroism and bravery in the face of despair is what gave Selena the will to carry on, and with Hannah, the three characters form a makeshift family. The theatrical ending even shows them potentially being rescued after a brief time jump, meaning the virus had not ravaged the entire world as it had England. That left the door open for an examination of the world many years after the rage virus outbreak in 28 Years Later from the original characters' perspectives.

28 Years Later Needs To Bring Back Jim, Selena & Hannah

The three original survivors will be able to provide perspectives on the changing world.

While Cillian Murphy is already confirmed to return for 28 Years Later, the long-awaited threequel also needs to bring back Megan Burns' Hannah and Naomie Harris' Selena as well. The theatrical ending showed the three had built some semblance of a peaceful life in the post-outbreak countryside, and had formed a family unit. Changing the ending to allow for such a hopeful outcome points to the intention of their story to continue.

28 Weeks Later was not related to the three characters at all, but it did end by showing that the rage virus had spread to continental Europe. In theory, this means that the entirety of Europe could have suffered a similar fate to England, which would ultimately leave the entire world in a completely different state. Bringing back Jim, Selena and Hannah is the ideal way to show how humanity has adapted to survive in the new, rage-infected world over the last three decades.

28 Years Later Would Finally Justify The Original Movie's Ending Change

The new movie would justify changing from a more emotionally powerful ending to a happier one.

Many horror fans believe that the 28 Days Later alternate ending was better than the theatrical version. It's argued that Jim's death at the end served as an exclamation point to the dark and dismal narrative painted by the rest of the movie, and the happy ending was jarring after all the death and suffering that had occurred before it. Boyle clearly strove for gritty, bloody realism throughout the movie, and the saccharine conclusion seemed to betray everything about that, even if the ultimate intention was to end the narrative on a hopeful note.

While Jim dying at the end of the movie would have been a more emotionally powerful conclusion to the story, the happy ending is retroactively justified by the advent of 28 Years Later. Boyle's final decision to leave the door open for further exploration of the world created in 28 Days Later may have even been made with a sequel like 28 Years Later in mind. It may have simply taken this long for Boyle to feel comfortable moving forward knowing that he, writer Alex Garland and star Cillian Murphy were all back to advance the story the way he intended it.

• 28 Years Later

  Director: Danny Boyle

  Cast: Cillian Murphy

  Rating: Not Rated

  Genres: Horror

  Story By: Danny Boyle, Alex Garland

  prequel(s): 28 Weeks Later, 28 Days Later

  Franchise(s): 28 Days Later