The unlikeliest horror franchise of the century is now getting ready to unleash its fourth film on unsuspecting moviegoers — and, yes, a bone temple is once again involved. After taking just over two decades to arrive following Danny Boyle’s original “28 Days Later” (as well as the 2007 sequel “28 Weeks Later,” if you’re into that), “28 Years Later” proved there was plenty of reason left to return to the zombie-ridden shores of the United Kingdom. Instead of Cillian Murphy’s bicycle courier Jim, however, we ended up following the very different circumstances surrounding Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s patriarch Jamie, his terminally-ill wife Isla (Jodie Comer), and their young son Spike (Alfie Williams). And rather than tell a straightforward story focused on killing mindless monsters infected with the rage virus, returning director Boyle and writer Alex Garland turned this legacy sequel into a surprisingly emotional (but no less scary) entry all about ruminating on our mortality.
By the end, the thoroughly satisfying and self-contained “28 Years Later” had most of us viewers outside the UK united by a few pressing questions: What the heck is up with that tracksuit-wearing and backflipping gang of outlaws, why aren’t we more aware of Jimmy Savile’s notorious reputation, and have we seen the last of that creepy Bone Temple and its unusual guardian? Ralph Fiennes’ almost Colonel Kurtz-like loner Dr. Kelson proved to be the biggest surprise of “28 Years Later,” primarily through his obsession with building that morbid monument to those lost along the way. (According to the film’s press notes, Kelson’s “temple” was inspired by real-world creations such as the National Covid Memorial Wall memorializing the victims in London and the Hill of Crosses pilgrimage site in Lithuania.) But how will these storylines intersect in the next movie?
Those answers may finally arrive with “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” The follow-up film has an exciting director, Nia DaCosta, and will presumably pick up where the previous movie left off, with young Spike surrounded by O’Connell’s tracksuit-wearing Jimmy and his gang of Savile-inspired ruffians. But other than that jarring sequel tease and the ominous subtitle, we’ve known awfully little about where the story will take us next … until now. Sony Pictures has just released the first trailer for the upcoming blockbuster, which you can check out above.
