How ’28 Years Later’ Sets Up for Its Sequel, ‘The Bone Temple’

[Editor’s note: The pursuing article contains spoilers for “28 Years Later,” which is successful theaters now.]

When I spoke to filmmaker Danny Boyle earlier this month aft seeing conscionable nan first 28 minutes of his upcoming “28 Years Later,” nan filmmaker was chomping astatine nan spot to stock more, not only astir this film, but what’s to travel successful Nia DaCosta’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” (in theaters connected January 16, 2026) and a planned 4th movie beyond that (and moreover hopes for a fifth).

After waiting years for nan 3rd film to travel to fruition, Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland intelligibly person plenty to stock successful nan upcoming films. Boyle said of Garland, “He wrote nan first book and nan 2nd book very intimately together. And we knew we had to sprout them back-to-back for financial reasons and character reasons and each those sorts of things that made a small consciousness to do it back-to-back.”

When asked really evident nan setup for “The Bone Temple” will beryllium at nan extremity of “28 Years Later,” Boyle said, “There’s a setup that’s significant. What tin I say? I can’t really opportunity anything. It’s not sequel-based. It’s not like, oh, nan communicative hasn’t finished. The movie [’28 Years Later’] is complete, and past you get this small tail that appears that’s, oh, God. Anyway, we’ll spot what group deliberation of it. It is different.”

Having now seen nan afloat film, I work together … and besides cannot hold to spot DaCosta’s film.

[One much time: The pursuing article contains spoilers for “28 Years Later,” which is successful theaters now.]

Boyle’s movie picks up — people capable — 28 years aft nan events of nan first film. The UK has been turned into a monolithic quarantine zone, each but abandoned by nan remainder of nan world, leaving anyone near live to fend for themselves. On a tidal land conscionable disconnected nan coast, a scrappy group of survivors person endured, including nan mini family of Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Isla (Jodie Comer), and their boy Spike (Alfie Williams).

When nan movie opens, Jamie is astir to return 12-year-old Spike to nan mainland for some his first travel location and (hopefully) his first termination of an infected. Alas, their sojourn draws nan ire of nan zombie hordes, peculiarly a monolithic “Alpha” who follows nan brace backmost to their comparatively safe home.

But while Jamie is capable to clasp disconnected nan zombies (and termination their leader), nan pair’s sojourn also lights thing successful Spike: nan anticipation of a quality expert successful nan vicinity who, he hopes, mightiness beryllium capable to cure Isla of immoderate is ailing her (headaches, nosebleeds, representation loss, and horrific pain). Spike doesn’t meet nan doc, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) during that first visit, only spies his home, by measurement of a monolithic occurrence that has seemingly been burning for years. What Kelson is burning isn’t a surprise: it’s corpses, some quality and infected.

’28 Years Later’

After Spike and Jamie return to their home, Spike engineers an escape, making disconnected pinch a baffled Isla, trekking crossed vulnerable lands, moving into friends and foes, and mostly doing nan very astir successful hopes that he tin prevention his beloved mother. Lots happens on nan way, including nan brace moving into a pregnant infected woman, who gives commencement to (gasp?) a wholly patient and normal baby, and yet uncovering their measurement to Kelson. While Jamie has tried to walk Kelson disconnected arsenic immoderate lunatic, some Spike and Isla are struck by nan man, who has turned his life’s activity into honoring nan dormant done nan burning of their remains, which he past fashions into staggering, sweeping memento mori.

That’s nan Bone Temple. It’s not a scary place, arsenic Jamie seems to deliberation it is, it’s 1 of heavy emotion and compassion for each people, infected aliases not.

And, no, nan Bone Temple itself is nary large secret, moreover earlier audiences locomotion into “28 Years Later.” “[There’s a location move successful nan film], it’s a geographical… You’ll person seen from nan trailer what nan Bone Temple is, and they put it connected nan poster now. But what nan Bone Temple is very important to nan bosom of nan film, really.”

While Kelson is capable to diagnose Isla, he besides can’t cure her. The prime is made pinch nan briefest of words and glances: Kelson mercy-kills Isla and presents her skull to Spike to spot successful nan very champion spot successful nan temple. But erstwhile Spike returns to his land location successful nan film’s last moments, he does truthful for only a very short period, conscionable agelong capable to time off nan babe (who he has, of course, named Isla) safely connected its shores, on pinch a statement to his begetter explaining that he’s safe but going backmost retired into nan world (for now) to find his way. And while he promises he will beryllium backmost erstwhile he is “ready,” an perfectly panic and grief-stricken Jamie seems intent connected pursuing his boy and bringing him home.

Meanwhile, young Spike is backmost connected nan mainland, roughing it but intelligibly surviving. Until a battalion of infected travel upon him, chasing him down a winding state road. As Spike makes disconnected pinch immoderate fantabulous termination shots, he abruptly realizes he’s not alone. Ahead, a striking quality appears: Jack O’Connell, sporting gleaming jewelry, a shockingly blond coif, and a disarmingly cleanable purple velvet way suit. As Boyle promised successful our interview, nan character whitethorn show up precocious successful nan film, but he leaves a elephantine impression, and he’s going to go “a immense character” successful “The Bone Temple.”

’28 Years Later’

As nan smirking O’Connell (he’s billed arsenic “Sir Jimmy Crystal,” 1 of many characters whose names see a derivative of Cillian Murphy’s original movie lead, Jim) congratulates a shocked Spike connected his shooting prowess, nan remainder of his pack appears, each likewise outfitted. They connection to help, and not only return down nan infected who person travel aft Spike, look to perfectly relish the killing, nan maiming, nan gutting. For these guys, this each looks … fun?

And while this would beryllium capable of an introduction, Boyle past zooms into a peculiar portion of jewelry astir O’Connell’s neck: a gleaming golden cross, hung upside down. Turns out, this is not nan first clip we’ve met Jimmy. Boyle’s movie really opens during nan first outbreak, pursuing a horrified family successful nan Scottish Highlands who are each (including galore women and children) overtaken by nan early zombie hordes. The 1 who gets away? Young Jimmy, who sees his full family slaughtered, only to tally to his father’s religion for safety, wherever his preacher begetter is embracing nan infected, deeming them saved.

Of course, they aren’t, and Jimmy hides nether nan church’s floorboards arsenic his begetter is devoured and infected. What has go of that kid successful nan 28 years that person passed? That’s what we’ll spot successful “The Bone Temple,” which promises to not only bring Sir Jimmy Crystal to nan fore, but to spot him up against a raging Jamie.

When it came to considering these 3 films of a definite piece, Boyle pointed to DaCosta, who it seems had immoderate unthinkable insights into this trilogy. “I retrieve asking Nia [about this caller trilogy], ‘What do you deliberation it’s about?,'” Boyle called. “It won’t needfully extremity up being astir this because films change, but I said, ‘What do you deliberation it’s about?’ And she said, ‘Well, I deliberation nan first 1 is astir nan quality of family. The 2nd one’s astir nan quality of evil. And nan 3rd 1 is astir nan quality of redemption.'”

A Sony production, “28 Years Later” is successful theaters now.