28 Years Later ends on a wild and unexpected note, leaving viewers with many questions about what happened and what’s to come in the horror franchise. Helmed by the director-writer duo of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, who collaborated on 2002’s 28 Days Later, the newest installment takes place almost three decades after the Rage Virus first ravaged the United Kingdom. On a small island separated from the mainland, an isolated town has learned to protect itself from the infected. One day, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) onto the mainland for the first time to experience combat with the infected, prompting a series of grisly encounters with the evolved creatures. After returning home, Spike sets off for the mainland with his sick mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), seeking the help of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who others claim has gone mad in the post-apocalyptic world.
The conclusion of 28 Years Later has some people scratching their heads, as Sinners star Jack O’Connell makes a grand but bizarre entrance. O’Connell notably portrayed the Irish vampire Remmick in Ryan Coogler’s superb action-horror film earlier this year, and looks set for a bigger arc in the 28 Years Later trilogy. There’s a lot to unpack regarding 28 Years Later‘s ending, which also sets up its sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
WARNING: Spoilers below for 28 Years Later
28 Years Later‘s Cliffhanger Ending Explained
Following Isla’s death and Spike’s placement of her skull atop Dr. Kelson’s memorial, Spike returns home with the infant child born from an infected. Instead of reuniting with his father, who slapped him the last time they spoke, Spike re-enters the mainland to discover more about the world he hasn’t seen. The baby rests in the care of the island’s townspeople, and Jamie is distraught at his son’s abandonment. While Spike treks across the mainland terrain, a group of infected descends upon him. Suddenly, people dressed in colorful tracksuits show up and take out all the infected in a burst of acrobatics and gore. The leader introduces himself as Jimmy and tells Spike they’re going to be friends.
Spike’s decision to leave his home illustrates the drastic change he undergoes over the course of 28 Years Later. Introduced to an isolationist mindset by his father and encouraged to kill over and over, Spike takes a different path when he enters the wilderness with his mother Isla. Through meeting Dr. Kelson, Spike learns far more than Jamie could ever teach him about the world he’s been isolated from his entire life. Dr. Kelson emphasizes the inevitability of death by repeating the Latin phrase “memento mori,” which shows Spike that life doesn’t have to end in carnage and that it’s even more important to love. 28 Years Later‘s massive tonal shift from Isla’s poignant death to Jimmy’s wacky entrance may be jarring, but it offers a giant hint at what’s to come.
28 Years Later’s Sir Jimmy Crystal is Based on A Real Person
Sir Jimmy Crystal appears to be a cult leader, given that his cohorts all bear variations of his name and wear similar attire. Viewers see a child version of Jimmy in 28 Years Later‘s opening sequence when a horde of infected attack his family while he and his siblings are watching Teletubbies. Subsequently, Jimmy watches his priest father succumb to the infected in his church. When Jimmy appears at the end of the movie, he’s wearing the crucifix his father gave him before he died, yet the present-day character wears it upside down. Moreover, Jimmy’s name is carved into the torso of the upside-down infected corpse Jamie and Spike find while venturing on the mainland, and can be seen written on a wall during Spike and Isla’s trip. All of this suggests that Jimmy has attracted quite the following over the years since he lost his entire family, and may look to impose his will on Spike after saving his life.
Jimmy’s bombastic introduction at the end of 28 Years Later strongly references Jimmy Savile, the eccentric British TV personality who sexually abused hundreds of individuals, most of them children. 28 Years Later‘s Jimmy and his followers are dressed like Savile, so it appears the celebrity served as the inspiration for their identity.
Boyle has confirmed that connection in recent interviews, saying “He’s [Jimmy Savile] as much to do with pop culture as he is to do with sportswear, to do with cricket, to do with the honors system,” Boyle told Business Insider. “It’s all kind of twisting in this partial remembrance, clinging onto things and then recreating them as an image for followers.”
The evocation of an infamous cult-like persona in a movie making commentary on British isolationism feels like a perfect fit. Donning gold jewelry and speaking like the king he believes himself to be, O’Connell’s Jimmy is primed to play a major role in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
How Does 28 Years Later‘s Ending Set Up the Sequel?
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will see Garland return to write and Nia DaCosta take Boyle’s place in the director’s chair. Story details have been kept under wraps for now, but it has been confirmed that Taylor-Johnson, Williams, Fiennes, and O’Connell will reprise their roles in the sequel. Jimmy’s appearance at the end of 28 Years Later and probable team-up with Spike suggest that his cult will serve as a focal point of The Bone Temple‘s story. It’s a safe bet that the film will reveal more about Jimmy’s backstory and how he established a cult following in the quarantined U.K.
Meanwhile, Jamie faces a life separated from his son in the wake of his wife’s death, and the baby, named Isla, will be raised as one of the island’s own. It remains to be seen whether Jamie will search for Spike and try to reconcile with him, but it looks like a strong possibility. Dr. Kelson still resides on the mainland with his skulls, so it’s probable he and Spike will cross paths again. In addition to these existing storylines, there will certainly be new narratives and characters explored in The Bone Temple.
Plus, the confirmed appearance of Cillian Murphy’s Jim from 28 Days Later should make things even more interesting. The Bone Temple could also introduce more versions of infected that pose a threat to its main characters. There are so many possibilities for The Bone Temple‘s story, and 28 Days Later‘s ending indicates plenty more zombies, gore, and compelling character dynamics.
28 Years Later is now playing in theaters. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is scheduled to release in theaters on January 16, 2026.
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