28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director reveals the biggest difference between shooting the zombie horror sequel and making The Marvels and Candyman: "You don't really have to change it, although I did..."

Nia DaCosta is no stranger to helming big blockbusters, having made her MCU debut with The Marvels and followed up one of horror's most defining films with Candyman. Now, though, she's admitted that shooting 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is "one of the best filmmaking experiences" she's ever had.

During a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, DaCosta – who takes over from 28 Years Later's Danny Boyle for the second installment – also revealed the one big change she made to Alex Garland's original script: more zombies.

"One of the issues I had with Candyman and Marvels was the lack of a really solid script, which is always gonna just wreak havoc on the whole process. But Alex Garland hands you a script, and you're like, 'This is amazing.' You don't really have to change it, although I did, I basically asked for more infected," she laughed. "That was, like, my big contribution."

DaCosta went on: "I inherited an amazing cast, then I was given the leeway to cast the rest of the film. There were a couple of locations I inherited. I was given the leeway to develop all the other locations. Some of it overlapped, like the character Samson – Danny and I would collaborate a bit on the look, but at the end of the day, Danny shoots so different from the way I shoot."

Jumpscare-heavy zombie horror meets coming-of-age tale in 28 Years Later, which follows Spike (Alfie Williams) as he and his father leave their isolated home, Holy Island, behind for an adrenaline-pumping adventure on the Infected-riddled mainland. What starts out as a hunt for fun, though, soon turns into an eye-opening, treacherous mission after Spike learns previously kept secrets about the world beyond the causeway that's always kept them safe. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes round out the cast with Jack O'Connell, whose 'Sir Jimmy Crystal' showed up right at the end of the movie, set to be a key character in The Bone Temple.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple releases on January 16, 2026. For more, 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.