The Walking Deadand28 Days Laterare two of the biggest zombie franchises out there, but the film series has finally gotten its revenge over a decade after Robert Kirkman’s IP mimicked its opening. Although28 Days Later’s creator claims it isn’t a zombie movie, the film’s Infected has all the classic traits of zombies, making it one of the most influential projects in the subgenre. Its creativity and horror elements helped inspire plenty of other zombie media, includingThe Walking Dead, as the show’s opening episode seems extremely reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s cinematic masterpiece.
With the comic series starting in 2003 and the televised adaptation arriving in 2010,The Walking Deadhas become one of the most recognizable zombie franchises aroundand remains relevant today. During its peak, it was one of the biggest shows on TV, and it has since spawned a variety of spinoffs and games that have left a remarkable legacy. However, whileThe Walking Dead’s best episodeswere full of drama and originality, there’s no denying its iconic pilot has plenty of similarities to28 Days Later’s introduction, but the latter is finally getting a small form of revenge.
Both Projects Start With Similar Opening Sequences
While the two openings aren’t identical,The Walking Dead’s start heavily resembles elements of28 Days Later’s initial sequence. Each franchise provides some context before the apocalypse, before having their protagonists awake from a coma in an abandoned hospital, who proceed to explore the apocalyptic world on their own. Their backgrounds and the context of their comas may be different, butRick Grimes and Jim have almost identical starts in their zombie-infested worlds. As a result, it’s hard not to assume Robert Kirkman drew inspiration from28 Days Later, butThe Walking Deadcreator says this isn’t the case.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is a television series that premiered on June 07, 2025. It follows Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. He embarks on a journey to locate his family, encountering various survivors amidst the chaos.
Kirkman acknowledged thesimilarities betweenThe Walking Deadand28 Days Later’s openings, but he claims he hadn’t seen Boyle’s movie until after writingTWD’s first chapter. Assuming he’s telling the truth, it’s a huge coincidence that the franchises have such close introductions, but this only makes their legacies even better. Both IPs have launched incredibly creative universes with unique concepts that highlight the originality of Kirkman and Boyle’s take on humans becoming infected, and with28 Years Lateron the horizon, it looks like the movie franchise may be dipping intoThe Walking Dead’s bag of tricks.
28 Years Later Now Feels Weirdly Like The Walking Dead
The Longevity Of The Apocalypse Draws Parallels Between The Franchises
28 Years Later’s trailer has been highly praised for bringing a unique dynamic and hyping up the franchise’s return after an 18-year hiatus, but the film looks to be borrowing some elements fromThe Walking Dead. The first two films are set relatively early into the apocalypse, meaning everyone is still learning how to adapt and survive in the new world, but with28 Years Latercoming nearly three decades after the outbreak began, everything has changed. The teaser indicates there are cult-like factions, communities with designated roles, and extreme survival tactics, which are staples ofThe Walking Dead.
28 Days Laterproperly focusing on survivors who have learned to adapt to this world suggests it will be more like Kirkman’s franchise than the previous two movies.
It may not be the only zombie franchise to adopt these elements, butThe Walking Deadcertainly popularized many of these traits. Therefore,28 Days Laterproperly focusing on survivors who have learned to adapt to this world suggests it will be more like Kirkman’s franchise than the previous two movies. Thanks to its subtle trailer,28 Years Later’s storystill remains relatively unknown as of now, but with hostile groups clearly a part of the narrative,it seems likely the project will at least draw minor comparisons toThe Walking Dead, despite it inevitably providing plenty of fresh ideas.
Zombie Media Has Come A Long Way In The Past Few Decades
Although28 Years LaterandThe Walking Deadare destined to have many crucial differences, the parallels between them are a reminder of how competitive the zombie subgenre has become. Neither project was the first mainstream IP involving an apocalypse full of infected humans, butzombie stories certainly were nowhere near as popular as they are now when28 Days LaterandThe Walking Deadfirst started.
The Walking Dead’s Implied Virus Origin Would Copy 28 Days Later For The Second Time
The origin of the virus in The Walking Dead has always been a mystery, but this hint implies that it’s very similar to what was seen in 28 Days Later.
However, these franchises were undoubtedly key to the explosion of the subgenre in the 21st century, leading to plenty of movies, shows, and even video games focusing on a similar premise.The Last of Us,Left 4 Dead,Resident Evil, andCall of Duty Zombieshave all taken over the video game industry throughout the years, making the undead a pivotal part of gaming heritage.
Likewise,Shaun of the Dead,The Last of Us,World War Z, andAll of Us Are Deadall followed in the footsteps ofThe Walking Deadand28 Days Laterto become massive hits. As a result, it’s hard to do anything truly unique with zombies these days, but Kirkman and Boyle’s projects were pioneers and continue to reinvent the wheel years after their inception.
28 Days Later
28 Days Later depicts a post-apocalyptic Britain devastated by a virulent outbreak. Directed by Danny Boyle, it follows a group of London survivors as they navigate the chaos caused by a rapidly spreading virus, transmitted by humans and animals, that transforms the infected into dangerous beings. Released in 2002.
