Warning: This post contains spoilers for .
, the highly anticipated third installment in the post-apocalyptic horror series that began nearly 25 years ago with 2002’s groundbreaking , has premiered in cinemas, introducing a new and terrifying breed of rapidly moving infected.
While technically the third film, 28 Years Later diverges from the path hinted at by the conclusion of the 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later. Instead of the Rage Virus spreading globally, it’s revealed that the outbreak was contained within the UK, where survivors were left to fend for themselves as the rest of the world moved on. This shift is likely due to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the director and screenwriter of 28 Days, returning to their original creative roles after serving only as executive producers on 28 Weeks.
The film follows 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) as he ventures beyond his home on Holy Island—a secluded community connected to the mainland by a tidal causeway—for a hunting trip with his father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). During this perilous journey, Spike discovers the existence of Alphas, a more evolved and powerful strain of infected, and Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a mysterious survivor who Spike hopes can cure his sick mother, Isla (Jodie Comer).
Although Spike and Jamie return to Holy Island, Spike becomes disillusioned with his father after witnessing his infidelity. He decides to take his mother off the island to seek help from Dr. Kelson, despite Isla’s severe migraines and episodes of insanity caused by her illness. On their journey, Spike and Isla face various dangers, including a pregnant infected woman giving birth to a non-infected baby girl. The newborn’s father, an Alpha named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), arrives to claim her, but Dr. Kelson intervenes and rescues them.
After examining Isla, Kelson determines that she has terminal cancer and offers to help her end her suffering through assisted suicide. Following his mother’s death, Spike briefly returns to Holy Island to leave the baby in his father’s care, explaining her origins and his decision to leave.
While 28 Years Later may appear to conclude with Spike’s solo journey, the film includes a jarring epilogue that sets up the upcoming Nia DaCosta-directed sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. A third film, directed by Boyle, will follow.
Echoing the film’s opening scene, where a young boy named Jimmy (Rocco Haynes) escapes the infected’s massacre of his family during the initial Rage Virus outbreak, the final scene of 28 Years depicts an adult Jimmy (Jack O’Connell) and his followers rescuing Spike from infected 28 days after he leaves Holy Island.
The Jimmies, known by that name, are clad in brightly colored tracksuits and gaudy jewelry, using parkour-style movements to kill the infected. This sequence marks a stark contrast to the film’s overall tone and feels like an unusual ending. However, hints of Jimmy’s presence appear throughout the film, including an infected man with Jimmy’s name carved into his flesh and a mysterious ode to Jimmy scratched on a wall.
Jimmy and his cult’s role in Spike’s coming-of-age story will be revealed in The Bone Temple, scheduled for release in January 2026. Boyle has stated that fans can expect a “battle over the nature of evil” that will lead to a “bigger story about redemption” centered on Cillian Murphy’s Jim from 28 Days Later in the third film.
Until then, “memento mori,” as Dr. Kelson would say.
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