The unlikeliest horror franchise of the century is now on the brink of unleash its fourth movie on unsuspecting moviegoers — and, sure, a bone temple is as soon as once more concerned. After taking simply over 20 years to reach following Danny Boyle’s authentic “28 Days Later” (in addition to the 2007 sequel “28 Weeks Later,” in the event you’re into that), “28 Years Later” proved there was loads of motive left to return to the zombie-ridden shores of the UK. As an alternative of Cillian Murphy’s bicycle courier Jim, nevertheless, we ended up following the very completely different circumstances surrounding Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s patriarch Jamie, his terminally-ill spouse Isla (Jodie Comer), and their younger son Spike (Alfie Williams). And slightly than inform a simple story targeted on killing senseless monsters contaminated with the trend virus, returning director Boyle and author Alex Garland turned this legacy sequel right into a surprisingly emotional (however no much less scary) entry all about ruminating on our mortality.
By the tip, the completely satisfying and self-contained “28 Years Later” had most of us viewers outdoors the UK united by a number of urgent questions: What the heck is up with that tracksuit-wearing and backflipping gang of outlaws, why aren’t we extra conscious of Jimmy Savile’s (Jack O’Connell) infamous status, and have we seen the final of that creepy Bone Temple and its uncommon guardian? Ralph Fiennes’ virtually Colonel Kurtz-like loner Dr. Kelson proved to be the largest shock of “28 Years Later,” primarily via his obsession with constructing that morbid monument to these misplaced alongside the way in which. (In accordance with the movie’s press notes, Kelson’s “temple” was impressed by real-world creations such because the Nationwide Covid Memorial Wall memorializing the victims in London and the Hill of Crosses pilgrimage web site in Lithuania.) However how will these storylines intersect within the subsequent film?
These solutions might lastly arrive with “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” The follow-up movie has an thrilling director, Nia DaCosta, and can presumably choose up the place the earlier film left off, with younger Spike surrounded by O’Connell’s tracksuit-wearing Jimmy and his gang of Savile-inspired ruffians. However aside from that jarring sequel tease and the ominous subtitle, we have identified awfully little about the place the story will take us subsequent … till now. Sony Footage has simply launched the primary trailer for the upcoming blockbuster, which you’ll be able to try above.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple appears to be like simply as wild and surprising because the final film
Effectively, the “Bone Temple” footage might not have the identical instantaneous, attention-grabbing energy as the haunting rendition of the poem “Boots” from the “28 Years Later” trailer … however utilizing Arthur C. Clarke’s quote from an episode of “Horizon” about predicting the longer term because the narration for this one is an interesting, alternate strategy. Certainly, juxtaposing this towards photographs of the UK’s decrepit and post-apocalyptic situations makes for fairly an efficient sizzle reel. Clearly, DaCosta’s upcoming sequel is not making an attempt to repeat the actual identical power and vibes as Boyle’s horror movie, however we lastly have a greater concept how these disparate items will match collectively.
The footage highlights Dr. Kelson, a number of chilling interactions with that very same rage virus-infected Alpha named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) that performed such a key position within the earlier movie, and, after all, their collision course with the weirdest and creepiest cultists you’ve got ever seen, led by the tracksuit-wearing Sir Jimmy Crystal. Oddly sufficient, the primary protagonist of “28 Years Later,” Spike, solely pops up for a quick second in the direction of the tip of the trailer, pressured to affix up with the so-called “Jimmies” as they inflict their distinctive model of violence and chaos on anybody they could cross paths with. By means of all of it, one factor appears abundantly clear: People pose much more of a menace than the precise contaminated do. Will “The Bone Temple” proceed the story thread that the zombies aren’t truly the senseless monsters we assumed they have been all alongside? Are the Jimmies gunning for Spike’s remoted village, which might rope Jamie again into the combination? There aren’t any indicators in anyway of Jim from the unique “28 Days Later,” after all, however we already know he is due for a cameo in some unspecified time in the future within the sequel.
Both manner, we’ll be seated for this after “28 Years Later” turned out to be one of many largest and most thrilling surprises of all of 2025 to date. “The Bone Temple” hits theaters January 16, 2026.
