Early reactions to the film 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple — better than the "original", an outstanding villain and unexpected plot twists

It turns out that the sequel to 28 Years Later, subtitled The Bone Temple, is almost ready and had its first test screenings last month. Interestingly, the early reactions of the audience were extremely positive and identified Nia Da Costa’s film as better than the original.

“28 Years Later” and “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” — are two films in a planned trilogy that resumes the franchise launched by 2002’s 28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy. The first part debuted last year under the direction of the original director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland, while the second one was shot in parallel, but was already being handled by Da Costa.

Early reactions to The Bone Temple suggest that we may be seeing something surprisingly powerful. According to by the Word of Real report, the first viewers repeatedly interrupted the test screening with applause, and one even called the movie “better than the original” (this is the 2024 version). Jack O’Connell (Jimmy Crystal) is once again touted as the “villain of the year,” and Rafe Fines (Dr. Kelson) has a bigger role and gives a “much better performance.”.

Рейф Файнз у фільмі «28 років потому» / Empire — Rafe Fines in the movie 28 Years Later / Empire

Special praise was given to Garland’s script, where the third act “with a bold twist” is most praised. One insider hinted that the finale contains a scene that “will be talked about for most of 2026.”From a cinematic point of view, the sequel took a more traditional approach — unlike its predecessor, which completely filmed on iPhone cameras.

Творці «28 років потому» створили спецустановку з 20 iPhone для зйомок «в стилі Матриці» — Filming process of “28 Years Later” with a special rig of 20 iPhones / Sony

The ratings for 28 Years Later, despite extensive publicity and high expectations, turned out to be rather mediocre — 6.8/10 on IMDb, as well as 88% from critics and 64% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

“For the author’s courage, maximum tension in some scenes and the overall form, the film deserves 10 out of 10. However, as a whole, the plot crumbles against a wall of illogic and dubious adequacy, which can seriously spoil the overall impression.” — wrote in review ITC author Denis Fedoruk, giving the film 6.5 out of 10 possible points.

As for the box office, the movie eventually stopped at $150 million worldwide with a production budget of $60-75 million. There are risks that the third movie, in which Cillian Murphy was supposed to get a “significant role,” will not happen if the second one does not meet Sony’s box office expectations for a January 2026 release, as previously reported said Danny Boyle himself.