Alex Garland Explains Why THE LAST OF US is "Better" Than His Film 28 DAYS LATER

Alex Garland isn’t one to mince words, even when it comes to his own work. During a conversation with The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann on Sony’s Creator to Creator series, the 28 Days Later writer made a big statement that is sure to stire up soime conversation.

“Let me say this: The Last of Us is better than 28 Days [Later]. The Last of Us is better than 28 Days, or at least the writing is. I'm not going to talk about directing, that would be a silly thing. So not that.

“I know what 28 Days is, I know what I did. I know what that process was. The thing about The Last of Us, I was like, 'Oh, this is so much more sophisticated and moving. It was moving.

“I'm not dissing 28 Days, I'm very proud of it. It's a nice part of my life. But seriously, The Last of Us is on another level—so yeah, of course I was influenced by it.”

28 Days Later is a landmark film that redefined the modern zombie genre. It introduced the idea of fast-moving infected, shaped the tone of projects like The Walking Dead and influenced countless post-apocalyptic stories including The Last of Us itself.

Druckmann acknowledged this back in 2020, saying that 28 Days Later was a huge influence on The Last of Us' approach, particularly in its focus on character-driven storytelling over deep-diving into the virus’s origins.

Now, with Garland writing 28 Years Later, he admits that influence has come full circle. When he says TLOU inspired him, he’s talking about the writing process for his upcoming sequel, which reunites him with director Danny Boyle.

It’s a fascinating loop… a film that helped inspire The Last of Us is now being shaped by the very project it helped influence.

Both The Last of Us season 2 and 28 Years Later are set to drop this year, each exploring their own brutal and emotional dystopias.