Ralph Fiennes Plays A Survivor With ‘Out-There Views On The World’ In 28 Years Later
With 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are preparing to take...
With 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are preparing to take audiences further into the post-rage-virus apocalypse than ever before. In their original 28 Days Later, the societal collapse had only really just begun. But decades on, there are scattered survivors finding a way to live in the ruins of what came before – not just the Holy Island community that plays home to Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s Jamie, Jodie Comer’s Isla, and their son Spike (Alfie Williams), but other mysterious figures. Take, for instance, Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson – a physically imposing figure who’ll play a part both in this year’s 28 Years Later, and Nia DaCosta’s already-shot follow-up, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, expected to arrive in 2026.
With his stark appearance, bloodied visage and proximity to that towering structure of skulls (as seen in our exclusive image above), place your bets now on whether Kelson will be friend or foe. “He’s a survivor, and the way he survived is very interesting,” Fiennes tells Empire. “He’s quite out-there in his views on the world.” But, maybe don’t rely on your first impressions. “I think audiences will assume something about him and then see where it goes,” the actor teases.
While he’ll appear in Boyle’s first film in the Years trilogy, Fiennes reveals that Kelson will play “a much bigger part of the next one” – so expect the mystery of his true nature to rumble on into DaCosta’s entry. “He strides forward into the second film in an enormous way,” teases Boyle, “where the question of what he’s after and what he wants to do gets fully resolved.” Buckle up, everyone: the doctor is in.
Read Empire’s full 28 Years Later cover story – speaking to Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and more about the long-awaited return of one of the 21st century’s greatest horror stories – in the March 2025 issue, on sale Thursday 16 January. Pre-order a copy online here. 28 Years Later comes to UK cinemas from 20 June.
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