- 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple gets a release date
- Sequel released six months after 28 Years Later
- Director Nia DaCosta will helm the second part of a new story by Alex Garland
28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple has a release date and is sprinting towards us at an alarming pace, just like one of its Rage-infected zombies.
The 28 Years Later trailer made its way online in early December and quickly broke streaming records to become the second most-watched horror trailer ever. Turns out, the only thing scarier than the return of Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic franchise is It Chapter 2.
That film clocked up 90 million views in its first 24 hours of release against 28 Years Later’s 60 million.
Read more: Three of the biggest 28 Years Later plot theories
With so much hubbub caused by the movie’s first official tease, it can be easy to forget that a sequel is already in the works. 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple was announced alongside Part One’s confirmation in early 2024.
What’s more, the film is said to be the middle part of a brand new trilogy with each instalment written by original 28 Days Later scribe Alex Garland. While promoting his new movie Civil War, Garland confirmed that this is indeed the case, telling The Guardian: “A whole idea for a trilogy just sort of came – bing! – into my head.”
So what do we know about 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple? Well, with its predecessor yet to hit cinemas, we don’t know much – but we do have some key details. Read on to learn everything we know so far…
When is 28 Days Later Part 2: The Bone Temple released?
28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple is released on 16 January 2026. The date was confirmed on 19 December 2024.
This means that fans of the series will only have to wait around six months to see how Danny Boyle’s new story continues, after 28 Years Later drops in 20 June 2025.
The first movie in this new trilogy, 28 Years Later, is set for release on 20 June 2025. This could mean that we’ll get the film’s second instalment on or around the same date.
Read more: What is the audio in the 28 Years Later trailer?
Meanwhile, the first movie in the franchise, 28 Days Later, was released on 1 November 2002. With this in mind, it’s also possible that 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple could get a winter release.
The film began filming in August 2024 and reportedly wrapped production in October. The movie had been seen shooting scenes in various areas around the United Kingdom, including various spots in Cumbria.
Who is directing?
Nia DaCosta will direct 28 Days Later Part 2: The Bone Temple. She takes over from Boyle who returned to helm 28 Years Later.
Boyle, Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice and Bernard Bellew are producing alongside Cillian Murphy who is an executive producer.
DaCosta has a history with the horror genre. In 2021, she directed a remake of the classic 1992 slasher Candyman produced by Get Out’s Jordan Peele. She followed this up by heading over to Marvel to direct the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels starring Brie Larson.
DaCosta was confirmed to direct the 28 Years Later sequel in April 2024. However, it is currently unclear as to whether she’ll return to direct the third part of this proposed new trilogy.
As it stands, no title or additional information has been revealed for the franchise’s new trilogy capper.
28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple plot
No plot details about the 28 Years Later sequel have been revealed. In fact, we don’t even know all that much about 28 Years Later itself.
That said, 28 Years Later star Ralph Feinnes shed some light on the story that forms the crux of Garland’s new trilogy in late October 2024.
As reported by IndieWire, Feinnes said: “Britain is 28 years into this terrible plague of infected people who are violent, rabid humans with a few pockets of uninfected communities. And it centers on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother.
“He leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain. But of course, around them hiding in forests and hills and woods are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd, but actually is a force for good.”
How much of this plot will make it into 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple remains unclear. However, the ‘bone temple’ element of its title has already been foreshadowed during brief glimpses in the 28 Years Later.
Who is starring in the 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple?
So far, no official casting announcements have been made. However, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has self-confirmed he will be featured in the movie.
The news was shared during the star’s appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in December 2024. It’s unclear whether Feinnes’ character will return for the movie. However, his insight that both films had wrapped filming could be seen as an indication that he will return for the second movie.
28 Years Later is also set to feature performances by Jodie Comer and Cillian Murphy. However, due to the film’s violent nature, the survival of any character is far from guaranteed.
Will Cillian Murphy be in 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple?
Despite not knowing any official casting news, outlets have seemingly confirmed that series star Murphy will appear in the movie.
In late September, the Oppenheimer actor was seen shooting scenes in Ennerdale, Cumbria. Murphy played Jim in 28 Days Later, a bike courier who awakens from a coma to find England overcome by a zombie viral pandemic.
As to how Murphy’s Jim fits into this new trilogy? Well, it’s all up for debate at the moment.
Fans were convinced they had spotted a zombified Jim in the 28 Years Later trailer during a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. However, this theory was later debunked, with Boyle confirming that the actor in that skeletal role was an art dealer named Angus Neill.
Meanwhile, other viewers spotted the name ‘Jimmy’ popping up frequently in the same trailer. Could this be referring to Murphy’s Jim or someone else entirely?
We’ll have to wait and see.
What has happened so far in the 28 Years Later franchise?
Released in 2002, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later found bike courier Jim waking up to a world transformed into a zombie apocalypse. When a new virus escapes an animal testing lab, it leaves everyone it touches in a permanent state of rabid rage.
After answering what he believes to be a refuge call, Jim and some fellow survivors come into contact with some military men with dark plans for female survivors. After a brief battle, Jim and his fellow survivors are able to escape, ultimately finding safety on a remote island.
Read more: Everything that’s happened in the 28 Years Later franchise so far
A sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was released in 2007 but Boyle decided not to return. Instead, Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo took the reigns. His story found survivors living in a US-operated military base in the United Kingdom.
However, when an infected person gains access, all hell breaks loose. The discovery of an asymptomatic carrier of the Rage virus leads hopes for a cure, with two American military personnel charged with getting the asymptomatic patient to safety.
