Ralph Fiennes in new look at '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple'

28 Years Later: The Bone Templethe second installment of a new trilogy that started this year with 28 Years Laterwhich expands and continues the dystopian universe we originally saw in 28 Days Later y 28 Weeks Later of Danny Boyleis preparing to hit theaters in January 2026.

The titled Extermination: The Temple of Bones from the director Nia DaCosta and the screenwriter Alex Garlandexpands the world created by Boyle and Garland himself that hit theaters in June 2024, including what Sony Pictures describes as a “giro radical”.

Garland's script is said to have a particularly powerful third act, which supposedly provoked a strong reaction among those attending the screening, with a daring plot twist.

The Bone Temple picks up the story shortly after the events of 28 Years Later (2024), which culminated with the meeting of Spike (Alfie Williams) with the villain Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his gang.

The sequel follows Spike, whom DaCosta calls “the connecting thread” between the films, as he is forced to join Jimmy's violent cult, which is about to collide with Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and his Alpha virus carrier, Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), one of the figures that, for various reasons, attracted the most attention of the audience in this year's installment.

The story will share with audiences more information about Dr. Kelson (Fiennes) and his dynamic with Samson, an Alpha whom he frequently sedates, but never attempts to kill. The plot also will delve into the devastation caused by the virus in Englandexpanding the world and seeing other types of effects caused by the anger virus.

It is precisely Fiennes' Dr. Kelson who we see in a new official image shared by Sony Pictures to ScreenRant.

Take a look at the end of the note.

The reason why we can have the theatrical release of the sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Templeseven months after the release of 28 Years Later (2024), it is because the filming of both films took place consecutively.

Three weeks after Boyle wrapped production on 28 Years Later, DaCosta (Hedda, Candyman, The Marvels) filming began The Bone Temple.

The entire trilogy has a script written by Garland, with the potential return of Boyle as director of the third and final film.

Y as a curious factUnlike the first film, there is no evidence that iPhones or handheld cameras dominated the production; instead, DaCosta adopts a more classic cinematic style.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

“In the continuation of the epic story, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself in a shocking new relationship, with consequences that could change the world as they know it, and Spike's (Alfie Williams) encounter with Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) becomes a nightmare from which he cannot escape. In the world of the Temple of Bones, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival; the inhumanity of the survivors may be even stranger and more terrifying.”

It is confirmed that Jimmy, the character who Cillian Murphy performed in the original delivery, Exterminationwill appear in both The Bone Templeas in the third and last installment.

Extermination: The Temple of Bones premieres in Latin American theaters on January 15, 2026and in the United States on January 16.

New look (via ScreenRant):