“28 Days Later” is widely regarded as a groundbreaking entry in the zombie genre, revitalizing interest in the undead narrative despite its central antagonists being victims of a rage-inducing virus rather than actual zombies. The 2025 film “28 Years Later” served as a stellar legacy sequel, revisiting this dystopian world decades after the initial outbreak, and marking the beginning of a fresh trilogy. This series explores a universe where the infected are just one of the many threats the characters face.

The sequel, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” continues to explore the themes and ideas introduced in its predecessor. Directed by Nia DaCosta, known for her work on “Candyman” (2021) and “The Marvels,” the film expertly delivers gripping horror sequences. Collaborating with screenwriter Alex Garland, DaCosta crafts a narrative that satisfies while hinting at thrilling developments. With the “28 Years Later” trilogy set to wrap up with a final installment, this film lays a robust foundation for the series’ conclusion.

The film’s ending delves into themes of violence and the challenge of breaking free from destructive cycles. Additionally, it features a significant cameo that demands attention. Here’s a breakdown of the film’s conclusion to prepare you for the grand finale of this trilogy.

“The Bone Temple” picks up right where “28 Years Later” left off, with Spike (played by Alfie Williams) captured by the notorious Jimmy gang, led by the charismatic Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). Spike secures his place among the gang—where every member is named Jimmy—by eliminating one of their own. The gang soon encounters a group of survivors thriving on a remote farm. Jimmy Crystal, who reveals his father, a vicar, willingly succumbed to the infected, outlines the gang’s twisted allegiance to Old Nick (a representation of Satan).

“The Bone Temple” picks up immediately after the ending of “28 Years Later,” with Spike (Alfie Williams) captured by the Jimmy gang, led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). Spike earns a place in the gang (who are all named Jimmy) by killing another member, and the gang soon finds a group of people who have carved out a life for themselves on a secluded farm. Jimmy Crystal, whose father was a vicar who willingly allowed himself to be consumed by the infected, explains the gang’s philosophy and how they serve Old Nick (read: Satan). 

The gang torment and murder most of the folks on the farm, until two of them — including a pregnant woman — fight back, killing two of the Jimmies in the process. Jimmy Crystal tells Spike, who’s horrified by the Jimmies’ actions, to bring the woman back to him. She escapes, earning Spike Jimmy’s ire. However, a gang member known as Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) tells Jimmy Crystal that they should let Old Nick decide Spike’s fate, as she saw an orange man dancing with the infected earlier, who was surely Satan incarnate. 

In actuality, this is just Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whom we met in “28 Years Later.” The doctor grows an attachment to an alpha infected that he’s dubbed Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) who can be subdued via morphine. Dr. Kelson realizes there’s possibly a way to undo the infection when the morphine lifts the cloud from Samson’s mind long enough for him to say the word “moon,” showing that there’s still humanity within the virus’ victims. 

Jimmy Crystal meets Kelson and knows he’s not Old Nick, but persuades the doctor — under threat of violence — to go along with the ruse that he’s Satan to convince the other Jimmies that their figurehead is real. Before the big meeting occurs, Dr. Kelson realizes he may not have much time left with Samson and provides him with tablets to treat his psychosis, which he believes can prevent the infected from becoming violent. Later, Samson is attacked by other infected as the fog from his mind lifts, showing that a cure is possible.

The Jimmy gang enters Kelson’s bone temple, where the doctor makes a grand entrance as Satan, dancing to “The Number of the Beast” by Iron Maiden. Kelson keeps up the ruse until he realizes that one of the Jimmies is actually Spike, whom he helped in “28 Years Later.” Kelson tells the other Jimmies to crucify Jimmy Crystal, but the latter stabs the doctor, mortally wounding him. Jimmy Ink kills the other Jimmies and knocks out Jimmy Crystal, crucifying him on an upside-down cross. As Dr. Kelson accepts his fate, Samson returns to find him and carries him off somewhere as Jimmy Ink, whose real name is Kelly, and Spike venture forth on their own.

The film then cuts to Jim (Cillian Murphy) from the original “28 Days Later” teaching a young girl (who’s presumably his daughter) about World War II. They then notice two people — Spike and Kelly — being chased by infected in the distance, and head out to help them. 

For a so-called “zombie movie,” there’s not a ton of infected madness in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” Of course, we get some truly horrific displays from the infected, like Samson removing a man’s head and spine clear from his body, but thanks to the efforts of Dr. Kelson, we know the infection creates mass psychosis. The infected believe they’re seeing something else, and while that’s little comfort to the dead, it’s at least an explanation.

The same can’t be said for the truly horrific displays of violence from the Jimmy gang. When they encounter the people on the farm, they string them up by their hands and skin them alive so that their bloody muscles and tissues are exposed. There’s something of an explanation for why the infected behave so violently, but there’s no reason whatsoever for the Jimmies to kill people in this manner — this is a whole new level of depravity. 

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” explores the idea of what it means to be human. Up until this point, we might assume the infected are beyond saving, but Dr. Kelson shows that there’s still humanity in there, as evidenced by Samson becoming calmer and returning to Dr. Kelson right as he’s dying. Jimmy Crystal chooses a path of nihilism where nothing matters, including the sanctity of human life. He’s far more of a monster than any of the infected.

What good is a legacy sequel if it doesn’t bring back an original cast member? “28 Years Later” was largely separate from “28 Days Later” and “28 Weeks Later,” but “The Bone Temple” goes back to where it all began. The final scene sees Jim from “28 Days Later” alive and well, even though everyone thought an infected in the “28 Years Later” trailer was actually him.  

At the end of “28 Days Later,” Jim helps free Selena (Naomie Harris) and Hannah (Megan Burns) from a military installation that intends to use them as sex slaves. The finale sees the three of them living in the countryside when they spot an aircraft flying overhead. They quickly unfurl a banner that spells out “HELLO” and wave their arms around to get the vessel’s attention. While that initially seemed like an optimistic ending, suggesting that help was on the way, clearly there are a number of unanswered questions. 

The ending of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” suggests that while Jim and company may have been picked up from their isolated retreat, they didn’t necessarily find themselves back in civilization. It’s even possible that the aircraft didn’t rescue them out of fear they could still carry the virus. While the little girl with Jim could be his daughter with Selena, we don’t see either her not Hannah — which means that their fate is yet to be explained.

One of the most monumental moments in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is when Samson finally speaks. It shows there’s still hope for the infected and that their humanity isn’t lost forever. Dr. Kelson sees some success by simply giving Samson morphine, but the true revelation is when he realizes that the cure has to specifically target psychosis. It works, and Samson speaks even more when he’s surrounded by other infected who didn’t receive the same medication he did. They attack him, and despite getting bitten and covered with blood, Samson still seems to maintain his humanity when he’s reunited with Dr. Kelson. 

The question now is: What happens now? Is Samson’s more lucid state permanent, or does he need to continue taking pills to maintain his humanity? Can anyone else replicate Dr. Kelson’s research? Assuming Samson can maintain his mental clarity, it’s possible he can locate Dr. Kelson’s notes and get them into the right hands to mass-produce a cure. While Kelly sees Dr. Kelson dancing with Samson, she and Spike have no reason to return to the bone temple to locate the cure because they don’t know it exists. 

Dr. Kelson’s research could serve as a tragic case of dramatic irony: it’s possible for the infected to revert to their normal forms, but that information might be lost forever. 

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is intended as the second installment in a new trilogy, and was actually filmed back to back with its predecessor, which is why they were able to be released less than a year apart. Although Sony initially wanted to see how “The Bone Temple” did at the box office before committing to another movie, it appears that fans can rest easy: it was reported in December 2025 that the “28 Years Later” series will receive a conclusion, as opposed to other trilogies that will never be completed.

Alex Garland is again writing the script for the third film, just as he had done with the previous two, and at that time, it was stated that Cillian Murphy was in talks to return. Given his cameo in “The Bone Temple,” it feels like a safe bet he’ll be part of the production in some capacity. 

It seems like Sony was pleased with early reactions to “The Bone Temple” and pushed forward without needing to see box office returns. Looper’s review of “The Bone Temple” is very much in the positive camp, and you could go so far as to call it the first great movie of 2026. 

The ending of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” wraps up several storylines. The Jimmy gang is completely annihilated, and Dr. Kelson sacrifices himself to save Spike. It’s likely that the next movie will pick up with Jim rescuing Spike and Kelly from the infected, giving the filmmakers a chance to bring the story full circle.

Danny Boyle, director of “28 Days Later” and “28 Years Later,” told IndieWire in June 2025 that he spoke with Nia DaCosta about what the new trilogy would wind up being about: “It won’t necessarily end up being about this because films change, but I said, ‘What do you think it’s about?’” he recalled. “And 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.’” 

The third “28 Years Later” film could be far more optimistic than the previous two. If the threequel winds up being about redemption, then bringing back Jim makes sense. Whereas Spike’s father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Jimmy Crystal exemplify violence in different ways, Jim could be more of a peacemaker. He’s willing to grab a gun and shoot the infected if necessary, but he doesn’t seem to take pleasure in killing. Jim could finally give Spike the proper patriarchal figure he deserves, while pointing the way to a more humane future.