New Trailer Shows ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Raising the Stakes

Sony Pictures has released the official trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, offering the most detailed look so far at the second chapter in the new trilogy and signalling a brutal escalation for the long-running horror saga. Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland, the film arrives in cinemas on 14 January and continues the story set in motion earlier this year with 28 Years Later, shifting the focus from viral devastation to the power structures that have formed in the ruins.

The trailer widens the scope of the franchise once again, moving through fractured communities, crumbling landscapes and volatile human factions to show a Britain reshaped not just by the Rage Virus but by decades of unchecked desperation. It introduces Ralph Fiennes’ Dr Ian Kelson at the centre of a relationship that appears poised to reshape the fragile remnants of society. What begins as a moment of connection rapidly becomes something more dangerous, with the trailer hinting that Kelson’s choices may spark consequences far beyond the personal.

Alfie Williams’ Spike also takes a central role, with footage revealing the aftermath of his encounter with Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal. The character’s flamboyant brutality returns in full force as the cult-like “Jimmys” tighten their hold on their territory, thrusting Spike into a world that seems designed to break him. Erin Kellyman and Chi Lewis-Parry are shown expanding that sphere of influence, with Lewis-Parry’s imposing presence as Samson suggesting a new breed of infected that blurs the line between threat and myth.

While the Rage-infected remain a constant danger, the new trailer reinforces DaCosta’s broader thesis for this chapter: that the survivors themselves have become engines of terror. Instead of relying solely on the explosive chaos associated with the franchise, she leans into something more psychological and feverish, bringing a sense of creeping moral decay to the forefront. Her taste for maximalist visual detail combines with Garland’s fascination with societal collapse to create a world where humanity’s worst instincts thrive in the absence of order.

Interestingly, the trailer also shows Dr Kelson making progress with better understanding the motives behind the alpha’s insatiable hunger/anger. Could it be that he makes a breakthrough to offer hope of an end to the nightmare? Or will others intervene and prevent that from happening?

Cillian Murphy’s involvement remains one of the major talking points for fans, and although the trailer maintains its secrecy around Jim’s re-entry into the story, its tone suggests that his late-film return will be anything but quiet. With Boyle confirmed to direct the trilogy’s closing chapter, The Bone Temple appears positioned to bridge the original film with the upcoming finale in a way that deepens the series’ long-running mythology.

Shot across locations in Cumbria and North Yorkshire, the film builds on the visual identity established earlier this year, favouring overgrown landscapes and crumbling structures that look reclaimed by time and violence. DaCosta’s choice not to emulate Boyle’s original style allows this chapter to feel more hallucinatory and dreamlike, carving out a distinct identity while staying anchored in the world Garland conceived more than two decades ago.

Following the strong performance of 28 Years Later, which took more than $150 million worldwide, expectations for the sequel are high. The new trailer’s emphasis on shifting alliances, corrupted power and the strange mythology forming around the survivors positions The Bone Temple as a sharper, more unpredictable film that pushes the series deeper into moral grey zones.

With just weeks until release, the trailer offers a clear statement of intent: this instalment isn’t simply expanding the universe, but reshaping it into something much more volatile. More updates will follow as the film approaches its January debut.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple trailer