28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the most brutal entry to the horror franchise yet, and there are a lot of deaths to make note of before the ending, which perfectly sets up the third movie in the trilogy.
If you remember back to the end of 28 Years Later, Spike (Alfie Williams) dropped baby Isla back at Holy Island and chose to stay on the mainland. As a horde of infected descended upon him, he was rescued by Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his gang of Jimmys.
In The Bone Temple, Spike soon learns that they’re not the heroic saviors he believed them to be. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) continues his work on Alpha Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), making a shocking discovery.
All of this culminates in one of the most jaw-dropping scenes the film series has ever produced. So, here’s a breakdown of who dies, as well as how the ending sets up the third movie. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Who dies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple?
The main two deaths in The Bone Temple are Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). But there are plenty of others, including:
- Jimmy Jimmy (Robert Rhodes)
- Tom (Louis Ashbourne Serkis)
- Jimmima (Emma Laird)
- Jimmy Fox (Sam Locke)
- Jimmy Snake (Ghazi Al Ruffai)
- Jimmy Jones (Maura Bird)
- Jimmy Shite (Connor Newell)
- George (David Sterne)
In fact, most of the Fingers – as Jimmy Crystal calls his followers – die in the chaos, except for Spike and Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), who later reveals her real name is Kelly.
Jimmy Jimmy is the first, as he gets killed by Spike during an initiation ceremony. It’s clear Spike doesn’t want to do it, but he was left with little choice; newcomers are forced to pick a Finger and fight to the death. Whoever survives takes their place in the cult.
More Fingers, including Jimmima, are killed when they force their way into a farm occupied by several survivors, including Tom and his pregnant girlfriend Cathy (Mirren Mack).
Cathy manages to escape and makes it to the top of their barn, where Jimmy and his Fingers round up the survivors and skin their torsos as a sacrifice to Satan. Spike runs out to vomit, with Ink letting him sit this one out.
Jimmy gives Tom the option of joining his Satanist cult, and he picks Jimmima, not realizing how strong a fighter she is. Just as she’s about to go in for the kill, Cathy lets down a giant metal hook that kills Jimmima.
This leads to a fight, during which Tom is able to start a fire. A Finger is killed while others are set on fire, and even though Tom loses his life, Cathy is able to escape unharmed.
But the major deaths unfold during the climactic scene at Dr. Kelson’s bone temple. You see, while the barn fight was going down, Ink spotted Dr. Kelson dancing with Samson among his towers of bones and skulls.
We, as viewers, learn that the reason they are dancing is because Dr. Kelson has been experimenting with substances on Samson, and by the end of The Bone Temple, he may have found a cure to the Rage virus.
But Ink believes Dr. Kelson is “Old Nick” (aka Satan). Jimmy says he’ll converse with Dr. Kelson to find out whether it’s really him, and during this conversation, the doctor realizes Jimmy is suffering from schizophrenia.
He says he can treat him, but Jimmy explains that he’s in a bind with his followers. He tells Dr. Kelson that either he proves to the Fingers that he’s Satan or he’ll kill him, and so Dr. Kelson obliges.
This leads to the most badass scene in the entire film: Ralph Fiennes’ character hooks up his sound system, paints his face, and puts on the ultimate pyrotechnics show to Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’.
During this, he blows substances into the Jimmys’ faces while setting off a ring of fire around the temple. Initially, it all goes swimmingly, but when the performance is over, Dr. Kelson recognizes Spike.
Pretending to be Satan, he tries to convince the other Fingers to sacrifice Jimmy. This angers Jimmy, who tells them that Dr. Kelson isn’t Old Nick after all – and he fatally stabs the one man who may have found a cure.
A scuffle unfolds in which Ink kills the remaining Fingers and Spike stabs Jimmy. Spike is then able to comfort Dr. Kelson in his final moments, while Ink puts Jimmy on an upside-down cross, leaving him to be ravaged by Samson.
The Bone Temple ending explained
With the Fingers gone, Ink, aka Kelly, and Spike escape, only to be chased by a horde of infected. But guess who rescues them? None other than Jim (Cillian Murphy) and his daughter, Sam (Maiya Eastmond).
After the chaos, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple cuts to Jim and Sam living a quiet life at an isolated house in the country.
Jim is homeschooling his daughter, Sam, teaching her about history, during which they discuss the infamous George Santayana paraphrase, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
It’s implied that Sam is the daughter of Jim and Selena (Naomie Harris). Although Selena is nowhere to be seen, that doesn’t mean she’s dead – for now, her fate is unclear.
Jim and Sam’s lesson is interrupted by a siren, at which point the pair head to their observation post where they have guns set up. They see Spike and Kelly climbing over a wall while being chased by the infected and, “of course”, decide to save them.
How the ending sets up third 28 Years Later movie
Jim’s return perfectly sets up the third movie, which is set to be about “redemption.” Not only will we see Spike and Jim connect, but we might see what happened to Selena and learn more about Dr. Kelson’s cure for the infected.
Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland had already revealed plans for 28 Years Later to be a trilogy, but only the first two films were shot back-to-back, with Nia DaCosta taking over directing duties for The Bone Temple.
In December 2025, Deadline reported that the third film is going ahead at Sony, with Garland reportedly working on the script and Murphy in talks to return. Although there’s yet to be official confirmation from the studio, the signs are looking good.
As for what it will be about, Boyle revealed to IndieWire that he spoke to DaCosta about the trilogy’s themes, to which she said, “Well, I think the first one is about the nature of family. The second one’s about the nature of evil. And the third one is about the nature of redemption.”
Is there a post-credits scene?
No, even though it’s looking likely a third film will happen, there are no mid- or post-credits scenes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
So, once the new movie ends, you can either stay and watch the credits or leave the theater. If you choose the latter, you won’t miss any additional plot.
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