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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Is The "Weird, Demented Cousin"

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple star Jack O'Connell describes the film as the "weird, demented, relative cousin" of the franchise.

The first reactions to 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple are out there, and they are trending very positively at the time of writing. While this is a direct sequel to the previous film and was written by the same person, director Nia DaCosta has been very upfront that the script she was handed was not what she was expecting at all. "My movie is quite… weird. It's surprising. There were multiple moments reading the script where my jaw dropped, literally," DaCosta explained in a new interview with Empire. DaCosta is stepping into the shoes of director Danny Boyle, who made his return to the franchise with the previous film and will finish the franchise out with the recently confirmed third film. However, DaCosta and the rest of the cast really went for it despite essentially being the middle child of the franchise.

We all knew Jack O'Connell was about to turn in yet another buckwild horror performance in the few minutes we got to see of him at the end of the first film. That scene proved to be divisive, even if Jimmy Crystal's story served as the bookends for the entire film. O'Connell described 28 Years Later: The Bone Templ as the "weird, demented, relative cousin of what we've seen before, in a way I'm really fucking proud of. Because it's rooted in soul, and the what-ifs. Massive what-ifs. And it's fucking shocking." We've seen from the trailers that Jimmy is approaching Kelson, asking if he is the devil and devil worship from a person who has seen some of the worst that humanity has to offer. That's not going to end well.

It not ending well for anyone involved has a lot to do with the character of Jimmy Crystal and what he does to the people and the world around him. A lot of people familiar with British pop culture immediately drew the connection to Jimmy Savile. If you know who he is and what he did, nothing more needs to be said, and if you don't, just be prepared if you decide to do some googling. While the visual likeness might be there, The Bone Temple isn't specifically referencing Saville, as DaCosta explained.  "This character of Jimmy Crystal, he perverts things, and he takes something that's innocent and great — like the Teletubbies — and he makes it horrific," she explained. Even with all of the silly-looking wigs and bright jumpsuits, the character of Jimmy Crystal sounds like a bigger threat than the infected.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Expanding upon the world created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland in 28 Years Later – but turning that world on its head – Nia DaCosta directs 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. In a continuation of the epic story, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself in a shocking new relationship – with consequences that could change the world as they know it – and Spike's (Alfie Williams) encounter with Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) becomes a nightmare he can't escape. In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival – the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta, stars Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry. It will be released in theaters on January 16, 2026.

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