One of the year’s biggest surprises for me, so far, is seeing 28 Years Later not only surpass its acclaimed original predecessor, 28 Days Later, but top much of the competition on the 2025 movies schedule in my book. Thus, I am so strongly looking forward to the next follow-up, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, that I could rage out.
The latest installment of the franchise set in a world affected by a terrifying virus is a viscerally frightening, wonderfully acted, and emotionally heartwrenching experience unlike any “zombie” movie I have ever seen, and I cannot wait to return to this remarkable world in the sequel, which is, luckily, not too much of a wait away. Learn when The Bone Temple hits theaters, and more about this upcoming horror movie, below.
What Is The 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Release Date?
In a year full of highly anticipated horror flicks, one of the genre’s first major releases on the upcoming 2026 movies schedule is 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is set to come out on January 16, 2026. Movies released in January, especially of the horror variety, tend to get a bad rap, but it is a fitting release date when you consider that the sequel is raging into theaters 28 weeks after 28 Years Later… well, plus two more weeks, actually, but it’s close enough.
What Is 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple About?
Much like its predecessor in the time leading up to its release, plot details regarding The Bone Temple are being kept mostly under wraps for the time being. One thing we can say for sure is that it is a continuation of the events of 28 Years Later, which itself is a loose continuation of the classic horror movie from 2002, 28 Days Later, and its 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which is underrated in my opinion.
We can also infer, based on what its creators have revealed in interviews and from the open-ended 28 Years Later ending, that the film will continue to follow the adventures of young Spike after his encounter with Jimmy and his blonde, jump-suited crew on the British Isle, which is one of the last places on Earth overrun with those infected by The Rage Virus. Based on the title, it appears that we will also be seeing more of Dr. Kelson and his home, constructed from the remains of those who have died over the last three decades. Sony CEO Tom Rothman also told THR that The Bone Temple is “much more about man’s inhumanity to man,” which I think is already a common theme in many of the best zombie movies (and TV shows), but makes me no less interested in what the story will offer.
The 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Cast
The next installment of the 28 franchise, as I have decided to start calling it, will feature a few returning members fromthe previous film, as well as one esteemed veteran from the classic that started it all. Take a deeper look at the confirmed members of the 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple cast.
Alfie Williams (Spike)
Alfie Williams, who previously appeared on HBO’s His Dark Materials and the 2023 crime drama A New Breed of Criminal, gives a stunning breakthrough lead performance in 28 Years Later as 12-year-old Spike, who only knows the post-Rage Virus world, having grown up in the indefinitely quarantined British Isles. The English teen is reprising the role in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
Aaron Taylor-Johsnon (Jamie)
Despite being one of the biggest names in the 28 Years Later cast, having starred in a couple of the Marvel movies in order as Quicksilver, among other blockbusters, Aaron Taylor-Johnson had a surprisingly small amount of screentime as Spike’s father, Jamie. We are bound to see more of the Infected hunter in The Bone Temple, which might likely see him venturing into the Mainland to find his now estranged son, when the role is reprised by the Golden Globe winner, who is also set to star in Werwulf, which reunites him with Nosferatu director Robert Eggers.
Jack O’Connell (Jimmy)
Jack O’Connell surprised audiences, and myself, with his cameo at the end of 28 Years Later as Jimmy, who leads a team of highly-skilled Infected hunters who have, apparently, modeled their appearances after British TV presenter Jimmy Savile, who is a disgraced sexual predator in our universe. We will learn more about this irreverent character when the Irish actor, who also gives a stellar performance as a vicious vampire leader in Sinners, reprises him in The Bone Temple.
Ralph Fiennes (Dr. Ian Kelson)
I was also surprised by Ralph Fiennes’ role in 28 Years Later as the kindly Dr. Ian Kelson, who I expected to be a more antagonistic presence given how the film initially depicts his backstory and how his most iconic roles are villains, including sadistic Nazi Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List and Voldemort from the Harry Potter movies. The English Oscar nominee’s character is one I am most looking forward to seeing return in The Bone Temple.
Chi Lewis-Parry (Samson)
I imagine there are also many looking forward to seeing more of Chi Lewis-Parry, who wore a prosthtetic penis to play the hulking Alpha Infected Dr. Kelson calls Samson, who is the latest in a tradition of personfied “zombie” characters like the real hero from Day of the Dead, Bub. The English actor had previously worked with Taylor-Johnson as a stunt performer in Kraven the Hunter and was also seen in Gladiator II as Phoebus.
Cillian Murphy (Jim)
The one Bone Temple cast member I and many others are most excited to see is Cillian Murphy, reprising his role as Jim, whom many assumed was in 28 Years Later due to a shot in the trailer of an Infected who happens to bear a striking resemblance to him. The hero of 28 Days Later was the Irish actor’s breakthrough role before he played Batman villain The Scarecrow in the Dark Knight Trilogy, led the hit period crime drama Peaky Blinders, and won an Academy Award for the Best Picture Oscar winner, Oppenheimer.
Nia DaCosta Directs 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
More than two decades after helming 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle returned to the franchise to direct 28 Years Later, but he is not at the helm of the next installment. Directorial duties for The Bone Temple were given to Nia DaCosta, who cited the 2002 original as a film she watched on repeat as a teen at CinemaCon, according to ScreenRant.
After making her debut with 2018’s Little Woods, the filmmaker proved she had horror chops in 2021 with her acclaimed Candyman requel before helming 2023’s The Marvels. Boyle is also still involved with The Bone Temple as a producer along with Alex Garland, the writer of Days and Years who returns to pen the next installment, as well.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Was Shot Back-To-Back With The Previous Film
The amount of time between the releases of 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple, which is roughly half a year, is one of the shortest gaps between sequels in recent memory. That is because they were produced the same way the latter two Back to the Future movies were shot: one after the other. Aaron Taylor-Johnson recalled to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that both films were filmed back-to-back in 2024.
A Third 28 Years Later Installment Is In Development
There will be more to see from the world of the Rage Virus beyond 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, as this sequel is only the second in a planned trilogy. However, I say “planned” because the third film, and fifth in the franchise overall, has not been officially greenlit. As revealed in an interview with ScreenRant, Alex Garland intends to return as writer with Danny Boyle directing once the film acquires the necessary funding.
How To Watch The 28 Franchise So Far
It was only as recently as December 2024 when 28 Days Later finally became available to stream after several years, during which owners of the original DVD had the exclusive advantage of rewatching the classic from home. However, 28 Weeks Later has never been hard to find, currently available with a Hulu subscription, and 28 Years Later can be pre-ordered to own on digital and Blu-ray as we speak. Check out the full breakdown of how to watch the 28 Franchise so far below:
Reflecting CinemaBlend’s Mike Reyes’ 28 Years Later review, I think the film was absolutely worth the long wait, and The Bone Temple simply cannot come soon enough for me.
