In a new interview, “28 Years Later” star Jack O’Connell called the blockbuster’s forthcoming sequel, next year’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” the “weird, deranged cousin” of its parent film.
O’Connell is set to be one of the primary leads of “The Bone Temple,” after making a brief, jolting appearance in the final minutes of “28 Years Later,” which hit theaters in late June. The actor will reprise his role as Sir Jimmy Crystal, a tracksuit-wearing cult leader styled after deceased British media personality Jimmy Savile, who was revealed after his death to be a prolific sex offender.
According to O’Connell and “The Bone Temple” director Nia DaCosta, the “28 Years Later” sequel will continue to explore the corrosive effects of human evil, as well as the relationship between the film’s human survivors and those who have been infected by the franchise’s central rage virus.
“This film is the weird, deranged cousin to ’28 Years Later,’ who you might be a bit ashamed of because they have weird, questionable interests,” O’Connell told Rolling Stone in an interview published Tuesday. “I don’t think the infected are purely antagonists in our film. It definitely will make you consider that.”
Echoing O’Connell’s sentiment, DaCosta teased, “It’s so hard to describe the tone of the movie that I actually won’t even attempt to. But it keeps the same unique, off-the-wall, surprising energy.”
“The Bone Temple” sees DaCosta take over the reigns from “28 Years Later” filmmaker Danny Boyle, but the director says she did not try to copy Boyle’s aesthetic or style. “The thing that connects the two is that they’re both bonkers, idiosyncratic and very artistically personal works,” DaCosta explained.
“My big pitch when I was talking to the producers, including Danny and [screenwriter] Alex [Garland], before I came on was, ‘I’m going to make this my own. I’m not going to try to make a Danny Boyle movie,’” the filmmaker added. “That’s impossible to make. He’s so special. And it didn’t really interest me.”
“The Bone Temple” picks up where “28 Years Later” left off — namely, with young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) joining up with O’Connell’s Jimmy and his gang of cult followers. The sequel will reportedly follow Spike as he bounces between “the Jimmies” and Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), the doctor he met in the final act of “28 Years Later.”
“We’re in an apocalyptic world, and evil and darkness are two of the forces that have been able to still exist, and he revels in them,” O’Connell remarked about his “Bone Temple” villain. “When we meet him he’s doing good. He seems to be doing something quite positive, but we definitely take him on a journey of twisted gaiety. That is what I was searching for when playing him: twisted gaiety.”
Yeah, that all sounds deranged enough.
“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is set to hit theaters on Jan. 16, 2026.
