Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures is offiically moving forward with the third installment in their 28 Years Later series, with original franchise star Cillian Murphy set to return and original scribe Alex Garland penning the script.
Murphy will reprise his role as Jim in Nia DaCosta's upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which hits theaters in January, with his appearance setting up the third chapter. He's also served as an executive producer on all three films.
While Sony has always held the option for a third movie, they chose to wait to see how the first two films were received before making a call on the third one. However, after a successful box office run for 28 Years Later earlier this year and a roaring early reception for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, it seems as though the decision was an easy one for Sony as they look to continue this story in theaters in a few years time.
A director hasn't been confirmed just yet, but it's expected that Danny Boyle will return to helm the threequel. The Academy Award-winner had expressed interest in recent interviews and previously directed both 28 Days Later and 28 Years Later.
28 Years Later grossed $151.3 million at the global box office last summer, on an estimated $60 million production budget, and it looks like The Bone Temple may also exceed expectations next month, after early reactions hail it as "one of the greatest horror movies of the decade."
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple stars Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel; Schindler's List), Jack O'Connell (Unbroken; Skins), Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; Solo: A Star Wars Story), Chi Lewis-Parry, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass; Avengers: Age of Ultron), Emma Laird (Mayor of Kingstown; A Haunting in Venice), Maura Bird, Ghazi Al Ruffai, Sam Locke, and Academy Award-winner Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins; Oppenheimer, Peaky Blinders).
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hits theaters on January 16, 2026!
Expanding upon the world created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland in 28 Years Later - but turning that world on its head - Nia DaCosta directs 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. In a continuation of the epic story, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself in a shocking new relationship - with consequences that could change the world as they know it - and Spike's (Alfie Williams) encounter with Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) becomes a nightmare he can't escape. In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival - the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.