It's been a big day for those hyped for the upcoming 28 Years Later, with Empire Magazine dropping another exciting piece of news – Danny Boyle will not only resurrect the series with 28 Years Later, he'll also direct the third entry into the brand new trilogy.
Boyle's as-of-now untitled trilogy capper would follow 28 Years Later on June 20 of this year, and Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, set for release on January 16, 2026.
There's a catch though; the third and final movie won’t go into production until audiences respond to the first film. However, given the viral reaction to just the very first trailer, we have no doubt that both 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple will do exceedingly well. After all, Boyle's 28 Days Later grossed over $85 million worldwide upon its release in 2002, going on to become one of the most influential zombie/infected movies of the modern age.
Written by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, 28 Days Later), 28 Years Later stars Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Jack O'Connell and Erin Kellyman. Executive producing is Cillian Murphy, who starred in the first film as courier Jim, who will not appear in the first film, but could potentially return for either (or both) of the sequels.
Empire's new interview with Boyle and Garland also gives more detail surrounding the plot of 28 Years Later, for which he describes taking a “ a wholly different approach”:
Here, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Jamie, Jodie Comer’s Isla, and their 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) are part of a community on Holy Island, aka Lindisfarne, connected to the UK mainland by a causeway only briefly accessible when the tide recedes each day.
“It’s a closed and necessarily very tight community,” says Boyle. “There are very strict defence laws, obviously, to survive that long in what is effectively an ongoing hostile environment. They’ve created a successful community, as they see it.” It soon comes time for young Spike to take a rite-of-passage trip beyond the safety of Lindisfarne, to open his eyes to the true state of the nation. Needless to say, things don’t go to plan.
Garland adds that the story naturally lent itself to a three-movie format:
“This is very narratively ambitious. Danny and I understood that […] We tried to condense it, but its natural form felt like a trilogy.”
Head over to Empire to read the full interview and see an all-new still below. For more 2025 horror news, read our rundown of this year's most anticipated releases.
