28 Years Later features a star-studded ensemble of incredible actors like Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. But when the long-awaited horror sequel came out, all anyone could talk about was the performance of Chi Lewis-Parry, who plays a “monstrously hung zombie” named Samson. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Samson will return in the 2026 follow-up film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
Lewis-Parry’s Samson has no dialogue aside from some grunts and screams, and spends most of the movie running around with his privates out and decapitating anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way. The last time we saw Samson, he was terrorizing Dr. Kelson (Fiennes) and chasing after a non-infected baby that we’re pretty sure is his child. That seemed like a fitting farewell, but a new preview article from Rolling Stone includes a fresh image of Samson (his crotch covered up, for now) along with a quote from director Nia Dacosta, who teases that the relationship between Samson and Kelson is a “big part of the movie.”
“We’ve seen Samson ripping people’s heads off,” DaCosta said. “But Kelson’s a kook, and he’s doing what he wants to do.”
The final scene of 28 Years Later introduced a new character, Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who leads a gang known as The Jimmies. When we meet them, the the group saves young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) from a gaggle of infected by gleefully dismembering them. It’s no surprise that the Jimmies will play a major role in The Bone Temple, but Rolling Stone confirms as much, while also revealing the gang is on a collision course with Dr. Kelson (and perhaps Samson).
Speaking to Rolling Stone, O’Connell described the film as a “weird, deranged cousin to 28 Years Later, who you might be a bit ashamed of because they have weird, questionable interests.” DaCosta echoed this sentiment, adding that while she wouldn’t attempt to describe the tone of the movie, she relents that it “keeps the same unique, off-the-wall, surprising energy.”
But as weird (and violent) as it promises to be, The Bone Temple will continue with the main theme that’s threaded throughout the franchise as a whole: a thorough look at humanity and the horrors we inflict on one another. Sounds horrific. Count us in.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple releases in theaters on January 16, 2026.