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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director Nia DaCosta discusses one character's return and how it was shaped.
Posted in: Columbia Pictures, Movies, Sony | Tagged: 28 years later, 28 years later: the bone temple, nia dacosta, sony pictures
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Director Talks Samson and Kelson
The director behind 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple reveals her thoughts on the unexpected bond between Samson and Kelson.
Article Summary
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple explores the surprising bond between Dr. Ian Kelson and the Infected Samson.
- Director Nia DaCosta shares why the emotional connection between Kelson and Samson is vital to the story's hope.
- The film dives into the evolving rules of infection and what humanity might survive the Rage virus outbreak.
- A fresh twist on the 28 Years Later saga, hinting that even the Infected can reveal a path toward healing.
Just this month, the 28 film series returned with its fourth chapter, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, a direct continuation of 2025's 28 Years Later. The previous film primarily reintroduced audiences to a United Kingdom still scarred by the Rage virus decades after the original outbreak. Though this new sequel goes even further, digging into the rules and limits of infection, and into the emotional lives of survivors and the Infected alike.
A major part of that comes through the bond between Dr Ian Kelson, played by Ralph Fiennes, and Samson, the towering Alpha Infected who haunts the film's title ossuary. Despite the obvious danger for Kelson, repeated sedations and eerily close encounters lead to something closer to companionship. By the end, their connection hints at the possibility that the virus may not erase everything human after all. And when speaking with GQ, director Nia DaCosta explained why that development mattered so much to her.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Director Discusses the Dynamic Between Samson and Kelson
She explains, "I loved it because of the way it happened. I think the idea of a zombie, not a zombie, an infected, being cured in this type of film, like Bubba in Day of the Dead. But I think the way it happened, where Mr. Euthanasia is like, 'Shall I kill someone else?' … The emotionality of that, the hope it represents. Because it's not just like the world can be healed from this terrible disease. It's also like, 'Oh, this person believes in the capacity for people to change, which we really need.'"
That choice turns the Kelson and Samson scenes into much more than a clever twist on zombie lore. Their arc organically becomes a strong counterpoint to the brutality of Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal's cult, suggesting that the future of this world has more to offer than what we initially expected. Outside that compelling relationship, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple follows Spike, played by Alfie Williams, as he falls in with Jimmy Crystal's Fingers gang, then begins to question their violent faith. Jack O'Connell steps into the role of Jimmy, with Erin Kellyman as fellow "Jimmy" Ink.
Released by Sony Pictures through Columbia, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is in theaters now, with a third film already in development for those eager to see where this strange new phase of the Rage saga goes next.
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