Danny Boyle hails the North East as 'magic' setting at 28 Years Later gala screening
A special evening in Newcastle celebrated the region's starring role in the film as well as the young Gateshead lad who leads the A-list cast
Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle has praised the North East as a “magic” place to make films as he returned to the region for a special gala screening of 28 Years Later – the latest chapter in his cult zombie saga.
Speaking on the appropriately black carpet outside Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema on Thursday night - just 24 hours after the movie had its world premiere in Leicester Square, Danny celebrated the region where over 80% of the new film was shot, including locations right across Northumberland, County Durham and inside the former Nightingale Hospital in Washington.
“I’d certainly recommend it [the North East] to anybody,” said Boyle. “Newcastle is such a great town to live in, because you do have to live in a place for months and months and months.
“And the landscapes are spectacular, and the city is as well. We didn’t do as much filming in the city, because our story is set very much outside the city, but it’s such a cinematic city.”
The gala event was organised by North East Screen in partnership with Sony, the North East Combined Authority, Destination North East England and Tyneside Cinema, and saw guests including crew members, local extras, and industry figures from across the region join the celebrations, which included cocktails in skull-shaped glasses and popcorn on every seat.
Following the screening, Alison Gwynn, chief executive of North East Screen, hosted a Q&A in the packed-out Classic screen with Danny alongside the film’s shining star Gateshead’s Alfie Williams who makes his feature debut as Spike and Chi Lewis-Parry who plays towering infected zombie, Samson.
The film marks the third instalment in the franchise that began with 28 Days Later in 2002, and sees Boyle return to his apocalyptic vision of a rage virus-ravaged Britain.
But this time, the story unfolds in a very different setting – a self-contained community on Northumberland’s Holy Island, cut off from the infected mainland by a tidal causeway.
“The first reason we’re here is Holy Island,” said Danny. “It’s a wonderful premise for a story, and the idea of a tidal causeway island is captivating. People get that idea very quickly.
“So in many ways it’s the perfect setting for this kind of film and this kind of idea.”
Alfie stars alongside Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson who play his Geordie parents1 and Ralph Fiennes (I’m not telling you who he plays for spoiler avoidance reasons), and is already set to return for the sequel 28 Years Later: Bone Temple, which will be released in January 2026.
Danny described Alfie as “the centre of the film” and praised the local acting talent across the board… as well as North East agent, Janet Plater who got two name-checks in his speech for helping him find Alfie.
“The general acting talent was very high and it was a delight to cast it,” he added.
“The whole experience was magic… and why shouldn’t it be? There were some great places, some wonderful landscapes, a great city, and an extraordinary starting point for our story.”Danny described Alfie as “the centre of the film” and praised the local acting talent across the board… as well as North East agent, Janet Plater who got two name-checks in his speech for helping him find Alfie.
“The general acting talent was very high and it was a delight to cast it,” he added.
“The whole experience was magic… and why shouldn’t it be? There were some great places, some wonderful landscapes, a great city, and an extraordinary starting point for our story.”
He wouldn’t have found any arguments in the enthusiastic crowd, which included cast and crew, hundreds of local extras, and special guests such as Robson Green, comedian Jason Cook, and members of Sam Fender’s band. The movie was screened simultaneously on all three of the Tyneside’s main screens to make sure as many people as possible got the chance to see it together.
During a generous walkabout on the black carpet, Danny also pointed to the region’s wild and rugged terrain as a key asset for post-apocalyptic storytelling: “We wanted a landscape that felt like it was untouched by humans for 28 years, and of course the landscape of Northumbria is so incredibly wild. It was perfect.”
While 28 Years Later sets its bleak narrative in the North East, Danny’s affection for the region extends far beyond the screen. It’s not his first time filming here – St James’ Park featured in his 2004 film Millions, and he recalled: “It was a very historic day because Manchester United, my team, beat Newcastle 6-2 that day at St James’ Park – long remembered!”*
*I did point out that the ground was also the site of Newcastle whooping Man United 5-0 in the nineties… couldn’t help it!
Looking ahead, Danny confirmed that the next film was shot back to back, while also putting an end to speculation about Cillian Murphy’s involvement in the third and final instalment, which is in development. He has signed on for it - meanwhile all signposts are pointing to the North East playing a big role again.
“The story arc involves a significant journey – but not to that far away,” said Danny. “I hope to find myself back here quite soon.”
It’s fair to say the region’s film industry will be hoping that too.
28 Years Later is in cinemas now.
Jodie and Aaron have cited Cheryl Tweedy and Sam Fender among their go-to Geordies when it came to perfecting the accent.