With no official word that 28 Years Later Part 3 is in the works, director Danny Boyle has chimed in to insist it will be made eventually, and Cillian Murphy will play a key role.
In December last year, Sony confirmed it was moving forward with the third installment of the 28 Years Later trilogy a month before the release of the second movie, The Bone Temple. Elden Ring director Alex Garland, who wrote all the franchise entries thus far, was said to be working on the third entry, which does not have a title at this point. Danny Boyle has been open about wanting to direct it.
However, The Bone Temple flopped at the box office, casting doubt on the sequel. Now, amid continued radio silence from Sony, some fans fear the trilogy will never be completed.
But speaking at Zurich Film Festival (as reported by Variety), Boyle issued a positive update, although Sony has yet to rubber stamp it.
“28 Years 3, or whatever it ends up being called, will get made because people keep asking about it,” Boyle said. “Quite when I’m not sure, but there’s a script — a very good script by Alex Garland.
“[It will have] a lot of Cillian Murphy in it. Whether he’ll take his kit off anymore, that I don’t know. He’s got the Oscar now.”
The Bone Temple hit theaters in January 2026, just over half a year after 28 Years Later enjoyed box office success. Despite great review scores (IGN’s review returned an 8/10), The Bone Temple made only $58.5 million worldwide — just over a third of 28 Years Later’s $151 million.
In a May interview with Empire, The Bone Temple director Nia DaCosta expressed surprise with the theatrical results. “It’s so funny, because literally every barometer we use in the industry to determine whether or not a movie is good, and people like it and want to see it, was through the roof, and yet our box office wasn’t there,” DaCosta said. “I made a great film, and I’m really proud of it, and people liked it.”
DaCosta suggested there may be some truth to the suggestion that The Bone Temple came out too soon after 28 Years Later, causing audience confusion. “People were like, ‘Oh yeah, I saw that last summer!’ I’m like, ‘No, no, so there’s a sequel!’”
In March, Murphy said he was keen to finish the trilogy following his cameo in The Bone Temple. But despite Murphy and Boyle all wanting 28 Years 3 to get made, and Garland’s script ready and waiting, we all know it will be Sony that makes the call.
While you wait to find out, check out IGN’s article, 5 Questions We Have For the Next 28 Years Later Movie Following The Bone Temple.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
