Do You Need To See 28 Years Later To Watch The Bone Temple?

Nearly 20 years after the franchise was put to bed, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland finally reunited to bring us "28 Years Later" in 2025. Following in the footsteps of the acclaimed "28 Days Later" and its sequel "28 Weeks Later," the film shows us what the zombie apocalypse looks like nearly three decades in. Now, just a handful of months later, we're getting the next installment in the form of "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple." And unlike its predecessor, we're not jumping forward in time by much. 

Directed by Nia DaCosta, best known for helming "The Marvels" as well as 2021's "Candyman," "The Bone Temple" picks up where the last one left off. Without getting into spoilers, it centers on Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) who finds himself in a strange new relationship with none other than one of the infected. Meanwhile, Spike (Alfie Williams) is now hanging around with Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) and his crew, who were introduced at the end of the prior movie.

Boyle and Garland waited so long to make the movie that their idea to do "28 Months Later" focused on Russia went out the window. They wasted little time now that the franchise has been revived. Viewers who are interested in checking out "The Bone Temple" would do well to understand that this movie doesn't stand on its own two feet quite as well as the first two movies. 

"28 Days Later" was very much its own story and "28 Weeks Later" could be enjoyed without ever seeing the first one. DaCosta's movie is a very different beast. Audiences need to understand that "The Bone Temple" is, in every sense of the word, a direct sequel to "28 Years Later." 

One would be better off watching only "28 Years Later" before seeing "The Bone Temple," even if they haven't seen the original "28 Days Later." We're certainly not going to venture into spoiler territory here but it's worth priming everyone before heading into the latest entry in the series. Here's a brief refresher on what one needs to remember about "28 Years Later" before venturing into "The Bone Temple."

The opening of that movie is crucial, as we see a young boy watching "Teletubbies" with other children and adults around before Rage Virus infected zombies descend on the house, wreaking deadly havoc. This turns out to be a young Jimmy Crystal, who we meet once again at the very bonkers ending of "28 Years Later." It fills us in on his backstory, which comes into play in the sequel.

The ending involves Spike (Alfie Williams) setting out on his own after his encounter with Dr. Kelson, who helped give his mom (Jodie Comer) a peaceful ending in light of her cancer diagnosis, adding her skull to his temple of bones. After a dangerous encounter with a large alpha zombie dubbed Samson, Kelson sends Spike back to his isolated home with the infant he and his mom were caring for. Rather than stay home, Spike leaves the baby at the village gate along with a note for his father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Spike once again sets out on his own to the mainland. As a group of infected are bearing down on him, Jimmy and his gang of Jimmies, modeled after real life British criminal Jimmy Savile, kill them all in wacky fashion.

"28 Years Later" kind of just ... ends. With a pretty wild tone swing, no less. It all feels very disconnected from everything that came before. That said, without giving anything away, "The Bone Temple" picks up very directly with these various plot threads without any sort of primer for the viewer. There's no messy exposition. No pre-roll text cards that catch us up on the story up to this point. Nothing of the sort. The viewer is dropped right into the action, almost jarringly so.

It's more akin to "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" in that way than it is, say, "Friday the 13th Part 2." But when Boyle and Garland first decided to revive their early 2000s zombie franchise, they did so with a planned trilogy. So this was the plan from the very beginning of the venture, to tell a complete story in three films.

It's very much worth remembering that Cillian Murphy, who played Jim in "28 Days Later," is returning in "The Bone Temple." The actor has been clear that his role in this one is small but that he will return in a more meaningful way in the planned third installment, whatever it ends up being called. But before that happens, we must see what comes of Dr. Kelson, Spike, and Jimmy Crystal. Understanding who these people are and what we know about them heading into this movie is going to greatly enhance the viewing experience.

"28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" hits theaters on January 16, 2026.