Spoilers for the 28 Years Later trilogy are below.

Summary

28 Years Later is the first movie in a trilogy, with the upcoming sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple being the second.
The Bone Temple is expected to continue the series trend of combining the zombie genre with deeper meanings.
The third 28 Years Later film will be directed by Danny Boyle and depends on the box office success of the first two movies.

Fans waited nearly two decades for 28 Years Later to finally come to fruition. Luckily for horror aficionados everywhere, the new film is simply the first in a planned 28 Years Later trilogy, and star Ralph Fiennes has leaked some details about its upcoming sequel.

It is hard to overstate how big of a deal 28 Days Later was upon release in 2002. The inventive zombie film featured a who's who of English and Irish actors, including Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eccleston. It resolidified Trainspotting director Danny Boyle as one of the most exciting directors working, two years after The Beach was released to less-than-stellar reviews. 28 Days Later also had full sequences shot on a Canon XL1 DV camera when shooting on film was still the industry standard. It revitalized an entire genre on a scant budget of $8 million. For instance, there is almost no way The Walking Dead and The Last of Us exist without 28 Days Later.

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Both The Last of Us and 28 Days Later (and their creators) have extensively influenced each other's work over the years.

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By Joshua Newby

Since 28 Years Later finally released this weekend, Ralph Fiennes has been completing his requisite press requirements, and Entertainment Weekly got him to spill a bit about its 2026 sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The beloved actor relented after being asked to provide some early details, and he highlighted a scene about an infected woman giving birth to a non-infected baby on a train. "I can say that the themes that we touched on in the scene on the train, the moment of labor, the humanity — it is a critical moment in the life of a mother and child," Fiennes said.

"The ultimate human moment is an infected woman who is giving birth to a baby who is not infected. The theme of innate humanity — is it still alive in the soul, in the heart, in the mind of an infected person? Are they completely corrupted? Are they only rabid? Or is there the possibility of something? Something human, it's still there." He also elaborated on the intense violence seen in the films. "We carry in us the potential for terrible destruction and pain. That theme is picked up very strongly in the next film."

Ralph Fiennes Spoiled A Scene From The Upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

It seems clear that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will continue the series trend of utilizing the structure of the zombie genre to delve into heady themes about humanity. Given that The Bone Temple is written by the series screenwriter and Ex Machina director Alex Garland, this is entirely unsurprising. The Bone Temple is set to star Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes from the first 28 Years Later film, with Cillian Murphy returning to the franchise all these years after 28 Days Later.

The Bone Temple will also star Sinners breakout Jack O'Connell in yet another villainous role that is sure to earn even more plaudits for the English actor. Unlike 28 Years Later, The Bone Temple will be directed by Nia DaCosta, best known for helming Candyman and The Marvels. A third 28 Years Later film is set to be led by Danny Boyle, but its exsistence surely depends on the box office returns for these first two films.