I Rewatched 28 Days Later And Have Major Questions About Its Opening Scene

There are still many unanswered questions about the Rage Virus in 28 Days Later and its sequels, even though the original movie’s opening scene tried to offer an explanation for its origin. 28 Days Later revitalized the zombie-horror genre back in 2002, as Cillian Murphy’s Jim woke up in a London ravaged by humans infected with a highly-contagious virus that induces extreme rage and aggression in its victims. The Rage Virus was somewhat manageable in the early days, but, as 28 Days Later’s sequels prove, the time of peace in the first 28 weeks could never have lasted.

The original 28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle with a script by Alex Garland, chose to actually reveal where the Rage Virus originated. In the years since, some of the best zombie-themed movies and TV shows have ignored an origin story, and 28 Days Later could have done this by introducing us to Jim in his hospital bed straight away. While the 2002 movie’s opening scene provided an explanation as to where the Rage Virus came from, all these years later, there are still huge questions that remain unanswered.

28 Days Later’s Opening Scene Explains the Rage Virus’ Origins

The opening scene of 28 Days Later takes place before the Rage Virus was released, when a group of animal rights activists break into a laboratory in Cambridge where experiments are being run on highly-aggressive chimpanzees. They meet a terrified scientist, who tries to warn the group that the chimpanzees are already infected with the Rage Virus. They don’t listen and release them anyway, but the chimps attack the group, thereby beginning the spread of the virus which would ultimately mark the end of civilization.

“I wasn’t taken by the idea that the zombies were caused by something supernatural,” explains writer Alex Garland during conversation with GQ back in April. “That just didn’t, sort of, push my buttons, and so I came up with, like, some completely bulls**t idea about viruses and chimpanzees looking at violent imagery, or, I don’t know, it’s just silly stuff.” Since Garland clearly didn’t put much thought into the minutiae of the Rage Virus, there are many aspects of the infection that are still rather confusing.

I Still Have Major Questions About the Rage Virus in 28 Days Later & Its Sequels

Even 23 years after the movie’s premiere, there are still many questions about the Rage Virus that haven’t been addressed. While the scientist in 28 Days Later tried to explain that the virus was given to the chimpanzees in order to act as an inhibitor, as they were running experiments to try and find a cure to rage. Even so, the exact origins of the virus haven’t yet been explored. Whether it was created by scientists or developed in the bodies of the chimpanzees by exposing them to violent material is uncertain.

Then there’s the question of exactly what the scientists were trying to achieve. A cure to rage seems ridiculous and unnecessary. Anger is a basic human emotion, so it wouldn’t make sense to try and rid humanity of rage, and this kind of unneeded testing feels like the scientists were just asking for trouble. The logistics of the Rage Virus’ origins are a huge mystery that neither 28 Days Later or 28 Weeks Later explained, but Alex Garland and Danny Boyle now have the chance to explore this history.

28 Years Later Has the Perfect Opportunity to Finally Answer These Mysteries

18 years after 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, we’ll be returning to the Rage Virus-infected world in 28 Years Later. Scheduled to release this Friday, June 20, 28 Years Later will feature a father and son, who reside on a heavily-guarded and well-protected island, journey onto the mainland on a mysterious mission. After almost three decades, it’s very possible that the human population has uncovered new details about the origin of the Rage Virus, which means the 2025 sequel has the perfect opportunity to finally answer some of these questions.

28 Years Later is the first part of a new planned trilogy set in this world, so it’s very likely we’ll get some answers to these major mysteries. Who knows who Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Jamie, Alfie Williams’ Spike, and Jodie Comer’s Isla will come across on their journey? Perhaps Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson is a scientist connected to the original Rage Virus from 2002. This creates the perfect opportunity for some of these questions to be answered, although it’s also possible Boyle and Garland would simply choose to keep the exact nature of the virus’ origins a mystery.

Do you want to see the Rage Virus’ origins explained in 28 Years Later? Let us know in the comments!