28 Days Later’s online status given major update after release of new trailer

Fans have been waiting for years for the 2002 hit horror film to hit streaming platforms

The new 28 Years Later trailer has left fans eager to watch Danny Boyle’s original hit horror but the film isn’t available to stream anywhere.

Starring Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris, 28 Days Later follows survivors of an incurable virus that ravages the world. It grossed $84.6m (£64.2m) from a budget of just $8m (£6.1m) in 2002.

The new sequel takes place 28 years after the first outbreak of the Rage Virus and looks at how the survivors are coping in the infected post-apocalyptic landscape.

Those keen to re-watch the original before the new film is released in June next year have been left disappointed. It can’t be rented, isn’t available on streaming and DVD and Blu-Rays are out of print.

Currently, the only legal way to watch 28 Days Later is by acquiring a secondhand physical copy. However, Sony has now hinted the much-loved film will soon be available digitally.

The entertainment company has launched a sign-up page for fans to be notified when the film is available to watch online.

The page reads: “Sign up and get notified when 28 Days Later will be available to preorder on Digital,” suggesting the film will be available to purchase in the near future.

Cillian Murphy in ‘28 Days Later’ (20th Century Fox)

28 Days Later has remained unavailable on streaming sites for years due to rights issues.

The film was produced and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which is now owned by Disney. However, the rights to 28 Days Later are owned by Sony, who won a bidding war for 28 Years Later in February.

The film follows on from another sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which was released in 2007 and is available to stream on Disney’s Hulu platform.

Unlike the very first film in the series, which had a modest budget of just £8m, the new sequels have a reported budget of £75m each.

The first trailer for the major new horror movie was unveiled earlier this week with some fans certain they’d spotted a zombified version of Murphy in the promo clip.

The new movie stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes and is written by Civil War and Ex Machina director Alex Garland.

A ‘zombie’ in 28 Years Later (Sony Pictures)

Although Murphy told The Independent in 2023, that he would be keen on returning for the third film, the Peaky Blinders star is not listed as an official cast member in the promotional material but is an executive producer, as per Variety.

On X/Twitter, one fan hinted at potential disgruntlement about the casting: “If that really Cillian Murphy as Jim you know fans are going to be mad because they’ve been waiting years for him to come back and Cillian Murphy said he would love to come back.”

Another fan was skeptical:  “You’re telling me Cillian Murphy who just won an Oscar is pretending to be a zombie in a film instead of just playing his character from the original, I don’t think so.”

28 Years Later will be released 20 June, 2025.