Upon its release in 2025, Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later left audiences with their jaws on the floor due to the final whiplash of its ending. One moment, viewers were quietly sobbing along with protagonist Spike; the next, they were accosted by Power Rangers-type, tracksuit-clad ninjas, led by Jack O’Connell’s Sir Jimmy Crystal. As wild as the ending was, it ensured that everyone would be flocking out to see the sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is out now.
Directed by Nia DaCosta, The Bone Temple picks up hours after that bracing ending, and follows Spike as he is unwillingly indoctrinated into the cult of the Jimmies. The sequel also expands on the stories of both Doctor Kelson and the infected Alpha, Samson. Given that The Bone Temple is meant to be the middle section of a new trilogy, this all makes perfect sense. DaCosta’s film does some excellent work planting the seeds for where the final chapter might go, without losing its own identity as a movie (something The Strangers: Chapter 2 could have learned from).
But what do those loose threads seen in The Bone Temple mean? How will events and discoveries found impact upon how this new trilogy ends? We think we’ve got some pretty good ideas that we’re dying to share. If you have yet to see The Bone Temple, be warned that this article is going to spoil a lot of the film, especially THAT ending.
The Bone Temple Ending, Explained - Who’s The Daddy?
Just like 28 Years Later before it, when it seems like everything was coming to a close, The Bone Temple rips a rug out from under the viewer. A young girl sits inside a cottage isolated in the rural countryside. She is doing a spot of studying, assisted by her father, who is not currently visible. The observant, though, will realise that the man speaks with an Irish accent, and 28 Days Later fans know exactly what that means.
As excited whispers begin to echo around the cinema screen, the camera pans out to reveal exactly what everyone has hoped: Jim has returned.
Last seen with Selena, Hannah, and a homemade SOS banner at the end of the first film, fans have been desperate for actor Cillian Murphy to return to the universe. After The Bone Temple’s announcement, there were rumours that Murphy might return to the series, but no one expected to see Jim back just yet.
Soon after he comes into frame, he and his daughter notice two figures racing toward their house, pursued by some of the infected. Jim has schooled his daughter in more than just politics, and the two quickly switch from wholesome tutor and student to harbingers of death. As the pair steps outside, it is clear that the two people in need of sanctuary are Spike and Jimmy Ink. But will Jim let them in?
Jim’s return obviously raises a lot of questions. Most notably because neither Hannah nor Selena appears to be with him. It has been 28 years, and so there are many possible explanations for their absence, and sadly, not all of them are good.
The big question now concerns exactly how Jim will help the new arrivals. One fan theory posits that Jimmy Ink is actually the daughter of Jim and Selena, and therefore the older sister of the girl seen studying. If this is the case, what made Jimmy Ink abandon what appears to be a fairly cosy life? Could Selena have died, and in her grief, Jimmy Ink absconded only to be collected by Sir Jimmy? This theory makes the most sense from a narrative perspective as it gives the biggest scope for drama.
Will Sir Jimmy Crystal Rise Again?
Another approach could be that Jim is a stranger to both Jimmy Ink and Spike, and sensing that they are good, decides to help them anyway. In all honesty, though, given the size of the clan pursuing them, Jim might have no option but to help them, with Spike bringing a lot of trouble to Jim’s door.
Speaking of trouble, in The Bone Temple, Sir Jimmy Crystal proves himself time and time again to be a man of great influence. The character's origin story is glimpsed at the start of 28 Years Later. At the start of the Rage virus outbreak, he and his sisters were routinely locked into a room with only a VHS tape of Teletubbies episodes for company. Then one day, this sanctum was invaded, and Jimmy was the only survivor. Racing to the church wherein his father was the priest, he witnessed his dad give himself willingly to the infected, believing them to have been a gift. Needless to say, this kind of trauma stays with a person, and with Sir Jimmy, it has manifested as a cult leader who thinks himself the son of Satan.
As the leader of the Jimmies, Sir Jimmy ensures that he is always surrounded by seven of his followers. This number can never go higher than seven, resulting in, as witnessed throughout The Bone Temple, a revolving door of disciples. Spike and the audience discover the hard way exactly how one becomes a member of the Jimmies, as Spike has to fight an existing Jimmy to the death. Spike reluctantly fights and earns his spot, but becomes trapped in a waking nightmare. Of the group, it is only Jimmy Ink that appears to remember her time before the cult, and the pair strike up an alliance.
After Sir Jimmy loses several key members of the Jimmies, including the Dipsy-dancing star that was Jimmima, he begins to lose control of the group. As so many mad tyrants before him, rather than accept his loss of power, Sir Jimmy doubles down only to have his bluff called when Jimmy Ink reveals she has found Jimmy’s dad, Satan. This character is, of course, the iodine-soaked Doctor Kelson, but wanting to save face, Jimmy has a meeting with Kelson and the pair strike up a bargain – if Kelson plays the devil, Jimmy will let him live.
The result of this deal leads to an incredible sequence set to Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’ during which Kelson unleashes his inner thespian.
Kelson is so good in his role as Satan that the remaining Jimmies believe him to be the real deal. This proves to be Sir Jimmy’s undoing, however, as after recognising Spike, Kelson urges the Jimmies to turn on their leader, which they do. Sir Jimmy lashes out, mortally wounding Kelson before finding himself strung up, crucifixion style. The last Sir Jimmy is seen when a gaggle of hungry infected approach him. Importantly, the camera cuts away before Sir Jimmy’s final fate is sealed, and it may be that audiences haven’t seen the last of the character after all.
Chances are, Sir Jimmy is now infected and will somehow become an Alpha variant, making him smarter than his counterparts. This will enable him to hunt down the duo that betrayed him. This, in turn, means that Sir Jimmy will meet Jim. (Honestly, I appreciate that many things are scarce in the wake of a national disaster on this scale, but I didn’t realise that names were rationed, too…)
Has Kelson Found a Cure for the Rage Virus?
While Spike is having a horrible time during The Bone Temple, for much of the movie, Doctor Kelson is having a fantastic time. He and infamously well-endowed Alpha, Samson, strike up a sweet friendship. Sure, it’s one based around getting stoned and listening to Duran Duran, but in a post-apocalyptic Britain, that sounds like bliss. Along the way, Samson starts to change, even managing to speak to Kelson. And this isn’t the only development, as through the power of flashback, the audience is treated to a memory of young Samson aboard a train. The newly changed infected Alpha is also overcome by some drive for modesty and fashions himself a loincloth.
During The Bone Temple’s climactic moments, Samson is present. He witnesses the death of his friend, and while sadly it looks as though Kelson might be gone for good, he has passed on enough information for Samson to incite further change. Has Kelson somehow found a cure for the Rage virus? If so, Samson is surely the person to continue the work, but what exactly does a fully cured infected person look like? This is likely to be a strong component of the third film, and could ultimately end the film series that began in 2002.
Is a Family Reunion on the Cards for Spike?
At the end of 28 Years Later, Spike returned to his home island with a newborn baby in tow. The child was the progeny of an infected woman, but the infant itself appeared fine, and so Spike decided to leave it with the community that raised him. Rather than stay by himself, he opted to go explore the world – well, the UK – on his own. This obviously has not worked out all too well for Spike, but could a happy ending still be on the cards?
Within his community lives Spike’s father, Jamie, and everything that we learned about the character in 28 Years Later points to a man who will not rest with his boy on the mainland. Jamie must therefore make a return in the third movie at some point; it is too large a plot thread to leave dangling. Plus, it would be interesting to see just how that baby is faring, and whether that, combined with Kelson’s research with Samson, could also help implement a cure.
A reunion between Spike and Jamie would also be fascinating to see unfold, given how much Spike has changed. Jamie was a father who stuck to outdated traditional ideals of masculinity, concepts that Spike rejected when he left the island. Sir Jimmy Crystal was frankly just unhinged and might have softened Spike’s feelings for his father, but how will time with Jim impact their dynamic? Jim has always been more of a brains-over-brawn version of masculinity and one that feels more in tune with Spike’s own feelings. Might there be a battle between the real and surrogate father? And if so, who will win?
Whatever direction the final chapter takes, The Bone Temple demonstrates that the future is less about surviving zombie-like masses and more about family and the possibility of redemption in a Rage-filled world. With Jim back in play, Sir Jimmy potentially reborn, and the first real hints of a cure on the table, the stage is set for a finale that will either see the franchise end with a ray of hope or see chaos reign forever.
