Ralph Fiennes Says That Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” Was Shot Partly On an iPhone

Director Danny Boyle’s nervy 2002 thriller 28 Days Later reinvigorated the zombie genre, introducing a version of the undead that was just as pitiless as previous iterations but quicker, more decisive, and more terrifying. Working off a script written by Alex Garland (who would go on to become an incredible director in his own right in films like Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War) and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (who would later win an Oscar for his work on Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire), Boyle deployed Canon XL-1 digital cameras while filming on location in England, a novel approach at the time. Now, 22 years later, with Boyle, Garland, Mantle, and 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy all reuniting for 28 Years Later, Boyle and his team have once again utilized a novel approach to give audiences something new.

Speaking with Collider, 28 Years Later co-star Ralph Fiennes revealed that Boyle shot the film, at least partially, using an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Fiennes is doing the rounds to talk about his critically acclaimed new thriller, Conclave, but he offered this juicy detail about how they filmed the movie after reports surfaced about Boyle choosing the iPhone. “Yeah, the iPhone attached on the back of huge lenses!“

This confirms previous reports that Boyle and his team eschewed the usual camera set-up and instead, again at least partially, utilized the iPhone, albeit in a highly advanced way—the phone was held in place by a protective cage and enhanced with attachments that increased its capabilities. In the original, camcorders were used to create grainier, rougher textures that befit the time and the context. The original featured a breakout performance by a then little-known Murphy as Jim, a young man who wakes up in a hospital in the U.K. to find out the country has been completely overrun by the undead. Now, decades later, Boyle returns and deploys arguably the piece of technology that defines our era to offer a vastly different visual palette that speaks to a new era of technology and, depending upon who you ask, the dread of living in a self-surveiling world.

28 Years Later reunites the original creative team and marks the start of a new era in the franchise. Its cast includes the aforementioned Murphy, returning as Jim and Fiennes, as well as Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. But 28 Years Later is just the start of a new trilogy, written by Garland and set to feature director Nia DaCosta helming the second installment. 

28 Years Later will be unleashed in theaters on June 20, 2025.

Featured image: LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 10: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) Ralph Fiennes attends the “Conclave” Headline Gala during the 68th BFI London Film Festival at The Royal Festival Hall on October 10, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI)