Did you know they were making not one but three films set in the post-apocalyptic zombie world we first visited in 2002’s 28 Days Later?
Well, they are, and we now have the title and release date for the second film.
The first feature, 28 Years Later, is set to premiere in theaters on June 20, 2025. Today, news broke that the second movie is called 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and it will premiere six months later on January 16, 2026.
What’s the Bone Temple exactly? We don’t know yet, of course, but I’d bet it has something to do with the tower of skulls we see a bloody Ralph Fiennes guide our protagonists to in the recently released 28 Years Later trailer.
The Bone Temple was shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later. But where the first film was directed by Danny Boyle (who also directed the 2002 movie that started this franchise), The Bone Temple has Nia DaCosta (The Marvels, Candyman) in the director’s chair. Alex Garland, who co-wrote 28 Days Later and 28 Years Later with Boyle (and who also wrote and directed Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War) has also penned the script for The Bone Temple.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter) stars in 28 Years Later along with Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Erin Kellyman (Solo), and Jack O’Connell (Ferrari). There’s no confirmation yet if any of those cast members survive to star in The Bone Temple, but odds are good that at least Taylor-Johnson’s character will live to see another movie.
Here’s the official synopsis for 28 Years Later, which gives us a tease as to the state of the world in the aftermath of a rage virus:
It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
No news yet on when the third film in the trilogy will premiere.
