Sony Pictures has dropped a new trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, slated for release early next year and directed by Nia DaCosta, teasing a possible cure for the zombie outbreak that has devastated human populations for three decades. It’s the sequel to this year’s critically acclaimed 28 Years Later, the third film in a franchise credited with sparking the 21st-century revival of the zombie genre.
(Some spoilers for the first three films below.)
As previously reported, in 28 Days Later, a highly contagious “Rage Virus” was accidentally released from a lab in Cambridge, England. Those infected turned into violent, mindless monsters who brutally attacked the uninfected—so-called “fast zombies”—and the virus spread rapidly, effectively collapsing society. The sequel, 28 Weeks Later, featured a new cast of characters living on the outskirts of London. But all it takes is one careless person getting infected for the virus to spread uncontrollably again. So naturally, that’s what happened.
And then came 28 Years Later, in which Britain was still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, but one group of survivors lived on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. There were evolved Alpha zombies, including one named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). And we met former GP Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a survivor of the original outbreak who had constructed a large temple out of human bones recovered from crematoriums (hence the film’s title). That film ended with a disillusioned 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) losing his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) and returning to the mainland, leaving behind his father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and newborn sibling.
Then, 28 days after leaving, Spike was rescued from a horde of infected by Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), another original survivor who turned out to be the leader of a barbaric cult. That’s where the sequel picks up. Spike, Kelson, and Crystal will play major roles in The Bone Temple. Per the official premise:
Dr. Kelson finds himself in a shocking new relationship—with consequences that could change the world as they know it—and Spike’s encounter with Jimmy Crystal becomes a nightmare he can’t escape. In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival—the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.
Samson the Alpha Zombie is back, too. The cast also includes Erin Kellyman, Emma Laird, and Maura Bird as Jimmy Ink, Jimmima, and Jimmy Jones, all members of Crystal’s cult. Best of all, Cillian Murphy will reprise his 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later starring role as intrepid bike courier Jim, who miraculously survived the first two movies and, apparently, the ensuing 28 years.
The trailer opens with an exchange between Kelson and Crystal, in which the latter asks if Kelson is “Old Nick,” i.e., Satan. It’s a reasonable assumption, given that morbid bone temple. We also see Spike joining Crystal’s ranks and Kelson remembering the happier past before sharing a moment of truce with Samson. “I believe the infection can be treated,” Kelson says later, and in the final scene, we see him give Samson an injection representing “a leap into the unknown.” Will it really cure Samson? We know there’s already another film in the works, so that might be an interesting twist.
Look for 28 Years Later: Bone Temple to hit theaters on January 16, 2026.
MOBA Project ZETA Announces Signups Are Open for Final Closed Beta