28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland finally reunited to make a sequel to their zombie (or, if you prefer, infected people) movie classic. 28 Years Later, which is meant to launch a whole trilogy of 28 Days Later sequels, reached theatres at the end of June, and the second chapter in the trilogy, 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, is scheduled to be released on January 16, 2026. Garland also wrote the screenplays for the sequels that will come after 28 Years Later. Boyle directed the first one, then passed the helm over to Candyman and The Marvels director Nia DaCosta for the sequel. With a month to go before The Bone Temple reaches theatres, the first reactions have dropped online – and they describe the film as brutal, bonkers, and brilliant!
Boyle might circle back to direct 28 Years Later Part III, but that one doesn’t have a full greenlight yet, and probably won’t until we see how the second film does at the box office. 28 Years Later made $150 million at the global box office, but seemed to have trouble connecting with the audience. JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray gave 28 Years Later a 7/10 review, and when we got a second opinion from Kier Gomes, he gave it a 6.5.
DaCosta recently said, “Making the 28 Years Later sequel was one of the best filmmaking experiences I’ve had. One of the issues I had with Candyman and Marvels was the lack of a really solid script, which is always gonna just wreak havoc on the whole process. But Alex Garland hands you a script, and you’re like, ‘This is amazing.’ You don’t really have to change it, although I did, I basically asked for more infected. [Laughs.] That was, like, my big contribution. I inherited an amazing cast, then I was given the leeway to cast the rest of the film. There were a couple of locations I inherited. I was given the leeway to develop all the other locations. Some of it overlapped, like the character Samson — Danny and I would collaborate a bit on the look, but at the end of the day, Danny shoots so different from the way I shoot.“
Here are some of the first reactions to DaCosta’s film:
THE BONE TEMPLE is brilliant: a sequel that operates on a much weirder wavelength than its predecessor, tackling the idea of a false god in a surprisingly thorny manner.
While not as formally inventive, I found its focused narrative to be stronger and more emotionally acute. pic.twitter.com/OeAqzSvU91
— Dimitri Kraus (@simplykraus) December 10, 2025
whatever doubts you had, if any, can be put to rest.
some all-timer needledrops in this. sauce and balls galore. jack o’connell rightfully gonna get his flowers for this but ralph fiennes man oh my god.
how’s that? https://t.co/uMS8kVtI9F
— brian berkman (@BrianBerkman) December 10, 2025
THE BONE TEMPLE is a brutally audacious follow up to 28 YEARS LATER that largely sidelines the infected to explore cultism, trauma, psychosis and compassion.
I really like its uncompromising, idiosyncratic ambition. It’s easily more polarising than 28YL.
Video coming in January pic.twitter.com/4KcKGSidml
— Ryan Hollinger (@ryanhollinger) December 9, 2025
28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE deepens the franchise’s lore with new questions and some long-awaited answers in the quietest yet undeniably most brutal installment of the series. Ralph Fiennes is truly phenomenal here, adding new poetic layers of complexity to his character,… pic.twitter.com/BJabyCbOqS
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) December 10, 2025
Hello, massive 28 Days Later fan here and The Bone Temple is the sequel I was hoping 28 Years Later would be #28YearsLater
— Jacob Stolworthy (@JacobStolworthy) December 9, 2025
#TheBoneTemple lacks the style of the last #28YearsLater, but it makes up for it with our lead characters (infected action is on the back burner).
Took a while for me to get invested… it’s a weird film… but the highs are HIGH. Final act rules! I want Part 3 rn! Ralph Fiennes!! pic.twitter.com/QpR7qOS1IM
— Adam Khan (@Adam_Khan100) December 9, 2025
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) –
What if isolation is as erosive as the virus flowing through the infected’s veins? DaCosta’s introversion of this world juxtaposes so precisely with the groundwork laid before her by Boyle. Hard to imagine a better start to the new year. pic.twitter.com/8jAM4sNpHl
— Giovanni Lago (@TheGiovanniLago) December 10, 2025
28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE is beautifully chaotic, breathtaking, and everything I wanted it to be. Nia DaCosta brought her unique style to this world on a captivating way and I would watch Jack O’Connell and Ralph Finnes for hours. Another banger of a film for this franchise pic.twitter.com/7VVr3cBN6s
— Rachel Leishman (@RachelLeishman) December 10, 2025
Nia DaCosta is a director that more people need to keep their eyes on for the near future.
28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE is one of the greatest horror movies of the decade, as it takes the first movie and goes 10 extra miles with the brutality and intensity of the world.
It… pic.twitter.com/Dc5vXqP20M
— Christopher Rates It (@LuminousDagger) December 9, 2025
I think I can now say I saw 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE a while ago & it is a very entertaining & worthy sequel to the first film
The film also includes some of the best bonkers shit you’ll find in a film next year, I want one of these films annually for as long as I live pic.twitter.com/UyHG4fRi1L
— Jacob (@JacobFisherDF) December 10, 2025
#28YearsLater: The Bone Temple – Yet more evidence that when you let Nia Da Costa cook, great things tend to happen. So much to love, with Ralph Fiennes walking away with the MVP and tearing the house down with one especially insane sequence that rightfully drew applause. Go see! pic.twitter.com/20s8pU3fLd
— Amon Warmann (@AmonWarmann) December 9, 2025
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a great follow up to Danny Boyle’s recent sequel. Nia DaCosta recaptures the magic of the previous films with a propulsive story that utilises dynamic camerawork as it explores the cultish side of faith, religion, NHS and the balance between… pic.twitter.com/w8US703Yec
— Zak (@zakfilm) December 9, 2025
28 Years Later The Bone Temple FREAKING RULES. Arguably the best of the FRANCHISE. It pulls no punches with its fantastic camerawork and beautiful message of faith, isolationism, hope and wonder. I was enraptured with it from start to finish. ABSOLUTELY GOATED @28YearsLaterMov pic.twitter.com/7IxT1ypSH4
— Brandon Benitez (@brandontalksss) December 10, 2025
28 Years Later #TheBoneTemple takes some big swings and most of them land. Suspect it will divide fans but it’s nastier and – surprisingly – funnier than the first part, with mesmerizing performances from Jack O’Connell and Ralph Fiennes. pic.twitter.com/D9XezUW2m0
— Will Salmon (@evilrobotbill) December 9, 2025
Are you looking forward to 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple? Take a look at the first reactions, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
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