Credit: Maximilian Bühn

Danny Boyle was “neurotically nervous” Geordie accents would ruin ’28 Years Later’

Fri 20 June 2025 10:31, UK

Danny Boyle has admitted one huge fear he had for his latest horror epic, 28 Years Later: that American audiences would not understand the Geordie accent.

Speaking at the premiere on June 18th, the Oscar-winning director admitted that “everybody was absolutely neurotically nervous about it but actually it turns out that the Geordie accent is fine.” He added, “It is weird, you can’t predict this.”

Boyle said that test screenings of the production were shot in the North East area of England. Following this, he expected “a whole shitstorm of problems with revoicing and all that kind of stuff”.

However, thankfully, Boyle could announce that “the Americans, when they were watching it, were fine, they understood it.” Nonetheless, revoicing was used minimally in the trailer, as Boyle revealed on the red carpet: “[There was]a little bit of revoicing for the trailers because they are instant things.”

This isn’t Boyle’s first foray into working with thick, regional accents. In 1995, he directed Trainspotting, based on the Scottish book by Irvine Welsh. The film’s producer added subtitles at key moments, as critics branded the accents hard to understand.

28 Years Later star Jodie Comer is known for her ability to master any accent, as evidenced in her role as a high-profile serial killer in Killing Eve. Critics have already praised her Geordie accent in the new movie, with Comer stating that she had studied tirelessly with her dialect coach to nail the part.

Alongside Comer, Conclave actor Ralph Fiennes will appear in the zombie extravaganza. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Edvin Ryding, Erin Kellyman and Alfie Williams will also star. The film was largely shot using an iPhone 15 Pro Max; of this, Boyle has stated to the audience that the film “doesn’t go where you think it’s going to go.”

28 Years Later arrives in cinemas on June 20th.