Rage may be the word most commonly associated with the 28 Days Later franchise, but today there’s another that fans of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s post-apocalyptic horror saga should have on their mind instead: joy. Yes, following the great success of this year’s 28 Years Later and a deluge of extremely positive early reactions from fans who’ve been attending previews for Nia DaCosta’s upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Deadline is reporting that 28 Years Later III is officially moving forward at Sony. And, what’s more, Cillian Murphy is in talks to return for the trilogy closer.
As Deadline remind us, when Sony snapped up the rights for Boyle and Garland’s 28 Years trilogy, the studio decided to let the first two movies get up and running first before green lighting the duo’s planned third feature. And as we learned way back in January, while Cillian Murphy didn’t appear in 28 Years Later (despite that one extra looking kinda Murphyish in the trailer), the plan’s always been for the Oscar-winner to eventually return in front of the camera as bicycle courier-turned-outbreak survivor Jim. In fact, as the man himself confirmed in an interview with The Observer earlier this year, Jim does in fact reappear in The Bone Temple, teeing up a far more substantial role in the now-confirmed third part of the trilogy.
Now, with Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple still weeks away from its 16 January, 2026 release date, details on the plot for the as-yet-untitled final chapter in Boyle and Garland’s horror trilogy are being kept firmly under wraps. We do however know that Garland is once again back on script duty for this one, and that Boyle — who’s always been open about his desire to return to direct the third 28 Years Later film — is looking likely to get his wish. And, coincidentally, we’re looking likely to get ours, which was basically just “more 28 Years movies please.” Merry Christmas, indeed!
