28 Years Later: Bone Temple star says it's the "weird, deranged cousin" to Danny Boyle's movie, reveals the infected won't be "purely antagonists" in the horror sequel

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will be less about zombie threats and more about cults and the dangers of the great outdoors, says star Jack O'Connell – as he reveals the infected aren't "purely antagonists" in the eagerly anticipated horror sequel.

"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," the actor, who director Nia DaCosta says is in his "baddie era", recently told Rolling Stone. "We see how much nature is the unstoppable force at the end of the day. Nature prevails. The world will take its natural course with or without humans. But I don't think the infected are purely antagonists in our film. It definitely will make you consider that."

Released in June, 28 Years Later centered on pre-teen Spike (Alfie Williams) and his father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as they leave the safety of their isolated home, Holy Island, to embark on a macho, coming-of-age ritual on the mainland: hunting the undead. What starts out as a fun bonding experience soon turns into an eye-opening, treacherous mission, , though, after Spike learns hidden truths about the world beyond the causeway that's always kept him safe.

It concludes with Spike choosing not to return to Holy Island, and being saved from a bunch of brain-chomping ghouls by O'Connell's bleach-blond, tiara-sporting Sir Jimmy Crystal – a character that's set to be a major player alongside Ralph Fiennes' Dr. Kelson, in DaCosta's follow-up – and his velour tracksuit-wearing crew.

"The thing that connects the two [movies] is that they're both bonkers, idiosyncratic, and very artistically personal works," the filmmaker explained. "What's cool about The Bone Temple is we have the Jimmies and their world, and we have Kelson and his world. Spike moves between the two, so it was really fun to be able to have a different style of filming for each character."

Elsewhere in the interview, DaCosta noted that Kelson's complicated relationship with violent, virus-carrier Samson (Chi-Lewis Parry) is a "big part of the movie", which might tie in to O'Connell's earlier suggestion that Bone Temple's treatment of the zombies is more nuanced than we've seen previously. "We've seen Samson ripping people's heads off," she said. "But Kelson's a kook, and he's doing what he wants to do."

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple releases on January 16, 2026. While we wait, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time, or our guide to some of the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.