28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director on that major returning character "I was so excited to bring this guy back"

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is now playing in theaters. The vicious sequel to 2025's 28 Years Later is the "wildest and weirdest" entry in the series yet, according to our review. Already seen it? Then you'll know that a major returning character features in the film's closing moments…

Warning: full spoilers for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple follow.

Following the deaths of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) at Kelson's ossuary, Spike (Alfie Williams) and Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) flee while being pursued by infected. Cut to a teenage girl, Sam, studying history from the comfort and relative safety of her cottage by the water. There are even free-range chickens wandering around the garden.

At that point, a familiar voice can be heard imparting a lesson about reparations from another room. "Why help our defeated enemy?" It's Cillian Murphy's Jim, who's revealed to have survived the events of 28 Days Later, and is raising a teenage daughter, though there's no sign of Naomi Harris' Selena. As they hear the commotion across the valley, Jim grabs a gun and steps outside to see Spike and Jimmy Ink being pursued in the distance. "Do we help them?" asks Sam. "Of course we do," replies Jim.

Much like 28 Years Later's unhinged coda, which introduced the Jimmys in a handover moment between Danny Boyle's film and The Bone Temple, Jim's return for the climax of The Bone Temple suggests we'll be seeing plenty more of Murphy's returning survivor in the recently confirmed third 28 Years… film.

Now this was something of an open secret, given Danny Boyle outright confirmed that Murphy would be appearing in The Bone Temple's handover scene 7 months ago. But with the film now in the wild, GamesRadar+ sat down with the sequel's director, Nia DaCosta, to discuss bringing Murphy back twenty, er, four years later.

"I loved it. I was so excited to do it. I was like, 'Yes, I get to do this!' Like, you know, bring this guy back.'" An enthusiastic DaCosta says. "It was great because also Cillian's amazing. 28 Days Later is so important to me. It's a formative film for me. I mean, it's actually insane for me as an 11-year-old watching and being obsessed with that movie and Cillian and Naomi and Christopher Eccleston, everyone in that movie. And then to be able to direct one of those actors in the context in which I fell in love with them, essentially, is amazing."

Whether DaCosta, or any other established characters will return for 28 Years Later 3 remains to be seen, but after his reintroduction in The Bone Temple's closing moments, it's a safe bet that Jim will play a major role in Spike's ongoing survival story across the north of England.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is now playing in theaters. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading your way.