I swear, sometimes the upcoming 2025 movie schedule was pulled from my dreams and put into reality. Several threequels I’ve been waiting patiently for are dropping, thanks to Paddington in Peru, Downton Abbey 3 and Tron: Ares all being on the board. But of course, my mind racing as fast as an Infected on a sugar rush after watching 28 Years Later’s first trailer.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Is Coming Sooner Than You Think
So what better time to find out that the second installment in the planned trilogy now has a confirmed title and release date that feeds another story theory I’ve been pondering! Per a press release from Sony Pictures, we should expect to see 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple raging into theaters on January 16, 2026.
That announcement couldn't have come at a better time, as the imagery in that first 28 Years Later footage appears to have shown us the Bone Temple! At least, that's what it looks like, if you study the top photo and this additional image carefully:
The Nia DaCosta-directed sequel will arrive in theaters less than a year after director Danny Boyle’s first chapter lands next summer, on June 20, 2025. This isn’t all too surprising, as Ralph Fiennes’ recent 28 Years Later update confirmed that two of the three Alex Garland-scripted pictures had been filmed.
The surprise comes from a release date being set for about seven months after that first installment has dropped. It may not be as quick as the original release plan for Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga, but it's still impressive after waiting for years for this project to take shape.
If anything, we could be looking at a best case scenario that includes some sort of teaser footage that hints at what lies ahead on Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer’s potential road trip from hell. And thanks to these new details, I think I know what we should expect from the next round of details for The Bone Temple.
We May Now Know How 28 Years Later’s Trilogy Story Is Structured
I now need to invoke a theory that was written by my colleague and fellow 28 Cycle fan Nick Venable. You see, he believes that 28 Years Later’s potential Jodie Comer role is that of Hannah, the young survivor who escapes death with Jim (Cillian Murphy) and Selena (Naomie Harris) in 28 Days Later. One of “The Manchester Three,” this first installment might be our reintroduction to the character formerly played by Megan Burns.
Keeping that in mind, I’d like to think that bringing in Candyman director Nia DaCosta means that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the triumphant return of Naomie Harris’ no-nonsense heroine. With the release date now being set for Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend in 2026, it would make a lot of sense to have a title releasing which features a strong black lead and horror icon such as Selena.
You can practically see what I’m leading up to with what the third, unnamed 28 Years Later installment will be tackling. If the first two parts are about Hannah and Selena, then the epic conclusion would most likely tie into my theory on Cillian Murphy’s 28 Years Later return. Why else would there be as metal as this one, conveniently placing three skulls within a biohazard symbol?
It would make complete sense to tease the moment we’ve all been waiting for throughout the first two acts of this larger story, winding up for a hell of a pitch in the final movement. But as of this moment, we'll need to be patient, as the long-awaited apocalyptic follow-up has only begun its long game of clever marketing.
There’s plenty of time to refine this theory, as there’s bound to be plenty more breadcrumbs dropped between now and 28 Years Later’s June 2025 release. While 28 Weeks Later will be leaving the Hulu subscription platform at the end of the month, the recent return of 28 Days Later through digital rental or purchase could make up for that lapse in availability.
