'28 Years Later' first major movie filmed with iPhone

Director Danny Boyle and his long time cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, filmed the original 28 Days Later on a Canon XL in 2002. Now they’re pushing the camera tech envelope again, filming threequel 28 Years Later on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

28 Years Later is the third in the post-zombie trilogy, although this may be the first in a new series of films. What’s incredible is that Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) and Mantle decided to film it with the iPhone 15 Pro Max over summer 2024. With a budget of $75 million, it is the biggest movie shot with a smartphone to date. 

Wired got confirmation from sources close to the 28 Years Later production that Apple’s then-latest iPhones were used to film. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has additional camera settings the standard 15 Pro does not, including a larger sensor (12 megapixel), telephoto camera with autofocus 3D sensor-shift module and a folded teleprism design, and an additional optical zoom of 5x (plus 0.5x, 1x, and 2x). It also has an f/2.8 aperture.

The smartphone rig is on the right. More rig than smartphone... PHOTOGRAPH: NEWS AND MEDIA / BACKGRID

Mantle and his team appear to also utilize special cages with lens adapters and cinematic lenses attached to give the look a nice film look. No confirmation on who made the cage and other accessories, but there are several out there, including Beast, Tilta, Moment, SANDMARC, and many others that are in the running.

While few other details are known, I would imagines that Boyle and Mantle filmed 28 Years Later in 4K and apparently Apple itself advised the filmmakers. We may see some footage at some point on Apple’s site as they regularly release shorts and commercials filmed on the latest iPhones. It’s also not clear if they chose to film with Apple’s built-in camera app in Cinematic mode or their Final Cut camera.

The filmmakers may have also used a third-party app like Filmic Pro, which allows for filming in Log V3, ProRes 4444, DolbyVision (or 10-bit SDR or 8-bit HEVC/H.264), clean HDMI out, and frame.io support. Other apps with similar features as Filmic Pro that Mantle may have chosen include the Blackmagic Camera App, Kino, and Pro Camera by Moment. 

28 Days Later filmed on the Canon XL1 over 20 years ago

This is not the first time Danny Boyle and his production team have innovated before when it comes to using digital technology and cinematography: Back in the early 2000s, he, cinematographer Mantle, and the crew used the Canon XL-1 with Optex adapters and cinema lenses to film the first movie, 28 Days Later.

It was quite innovative at the time, because Canon’s famous DV camera with an interchangeable lens was gaining popularity with the micro budget crowd (this author purchased one in 1999 to film indie movies and other projects). I remember reading everything I could find about how Boyle and the team used a $3500 mini-DV camera to film an indie zombie blockbuster budgeted at $8 million. I also recall debating on message boards why it was a good choice of camera despite the early availability of the Sony F900 CineAlta, a major camera used to film Star Wars Ep. 2: Attack of the Clones and Brad Anderson’s indie horror, Session 9.

Boyle and Mantle used an adapter, major cinema lenses, and filmed in 25 fps PAL to get the film look. When I saw it in 2003 in a major theater, it was quite cinematic, but it was also being shown on 35mm film as digital projection hadn’t expanded to more theaters.

Slumdog Millionaire was another movie from Boyle and Mantle that pushed the technological envelope by using the SI-2K from Silicone Imaging to film the masterpiece. They both won Oscars for their remarkable work on an incredible movie.

Zombie apocalypse!

28 Years Later will be the largest budgeted movie filmed on a smartphone. Tangerine (2015) was one of the first and Stephen Soderbergh, no stranger to using innovative film technology, used iPhones to film Unsane (2018).

The film will premiere June 20, 2025 and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Jodie Comer, and Cilian Murphy, returning to the role of Jim, which made him a star. Boyle directs 28 Years Later from a script by Boyle and long-time collaborator Alex Garland, who wrote the first one. Andrew MacDonald produces.

Source: Wired, who apparently noticed that a behind-the-scenes paparazzi photo (News and Media Backgrid) showcased the iPhone 15 Pro Max on set with star Comer. Kudos!

tl;dr

• Director Danny Boyle and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle filmed 28 Years Later,  the third instalment in the post-zombie trilogy, using an iPhone 15 Pro Max, making it the biggest movie shot with a smartphone to date.
• The filmmaking team utilized special cages with lens adapters and cinematic lenses attached to give the film a more cinematic look, and they may have filmed in 4K with the help of third-party apps.
• The film is set to premiere on June 20, 2025, and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Cilian Murphy, with Boyle directing from a script co-written by long-time collaborator Alex Garland.