28 Years Later Sequel Already Has a Release Date

Excitement for the 28 Days Later comeback is spreading like a plague. On Thursday, Sony announced the release date for 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple — January 16, 2026. This comes hot on the heels of the trailer for 28 Years Later, which hits theaters on June 20, 2025.

After lying dormant for nearly two decades, the 28 Days Later franchise is poised for a big comeback featuring original writer Alex Garland and original director Danny Boyle. The two were only producers on the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later, but they’re making up for that now with a planned trilogy starting next summer. They had previously revealed that they shot the first two installments of the trilogy back-to-back, so it’s no surprise that The Bone Temple already has a release date.

As exciting as this announcement is, we probably won’t know much about The Bone Temple until 28 Years Later comes out, in order to avoid spoilers. Both movies will feature Cillian Murphy reprising his role from the original, but to what extent, we don’t know. The trailer for 28 Years Later inspired some fan theories that Murphy’s character Jimmy might be infected with the “rage virus,” but we don’t know for sure.

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Even if that is the case, Murphy could continue appearing in the series as a zombie. This franchise is very particular bout how its rage virus works, and it has shown zombies kept alive in captivity to be studied before. The filmmakers may want to explore lasting hope for a cure — a concept that most zombie films give up on pretty quickly.

We don’t know how big of a role Murphy might play in 28 Years Later, but the main cast includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman and Edvin Ryding. So far, only Taylor-Johnson and Murphy have been confirmed for the sequel. Taylor-Johnson actually broke this news himself on the Happy Sad Confused podcast when he said: “we did one and two back to back.”

The amount of interest and speculation caused by this comeback shows that the zombie genre is not dead yet — or perhaps that it has risen from its grave. Sadly, fans will have to pay a price to dive into this discourse — 28 Days Later is not on any subscription-based streaming platforms, but it is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video. The sequel, 28 Weeks Later, is streaming on Hulu. 28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20, 2025, followed by 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Palace on January 16, 2026.