The third chapter in one of 2025’s most exciting film franchises is finally moving forward after much discussion, per The Hollywood Reporter.
28 Years Later III Moving Forward with Original Director
Sony announced on Thursday, Dec. 11, that it’s moving forward with 28 Years Later III, the trilogy-capping installment of Danny Boyle’s recently-resurrected zombie franchise. 28 Years Later, a continuation of the world Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland created in 2003’s 28 Days Later, arrived in cinemas back in June to rave reviews and a healthy cume of $151.3 million at the global box office. (The events of the first sequel, 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, were largely ignored in the most recent follow-up.) That’s a good sum of money, especially for an adult-skewing R-rated title, but it was far from the amount needed to guarantee a third installment.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Releases in January
The announcement that 28 Years Later III will be moving forward comes just days after critics dropped their emphatic first reactions to sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which arrives in theaters on Jan. 16. Critics are calling The Bone Temple a “brutally audacious follow-up” which, while perhaps not as “formally inventive” as Boyle’s sequel, “operates on a much weirder wavelength than its predecessor” and is “stronger and more emotionally acute” as it “tackl[es] the idea of a false god in a surprisingly thorny manner.”
Sony
28 Years Later Recieved Rave Reviews
28 Years Later garnered rave reviews when it premiered over the summer. Men’s Journalcalled it “a masterpiece” and “one of the year’s very finest films” which features a third act that is “vibrantly, unexpectedly affecting [and simultaneously] so ghoulish that it verges on very black comedy.” “As much as it’s a down-and-dirty horror picture, 28 Years Later functions as a rather heartbreaking rebuke to isolationism and the power of fear,” read our review. “It’s a pure Danny Boyle film, one which is entertaining and horrifying and thrilling and, above all, big-hearted. It’s a movie which deserves to be seen by all, even those who might not normally watch horror films, so powerful is its construction and impact.”
The Marvels director Nia DaCosta took directorial reins from Boyle for the first sequel, but the English Oscar-winner has previously stated he will return to helm 28 Years Later III. Original star Cillian Murphy, who has a small role in The Bone Temple, will reportedly lead the third installment. Boyle previously spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about knowing Dacosta was the right filmmaker to take over his mantle for part two. “I remember her saying, ‘I’m not going to make a Danny Boyle movie.’ She was absolutely clear about that,” he said. “And she hasn’t. She’s made her own movie and it’s very strong.”
