Key takeaways
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Rolling Stone debuted first-look photos and an interview with director Nia DaCosta and star Jack O’Connell. (Rolling Stone Australia)
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DaCosta describes the sequel’s tone as “bonkers” and “off the wall.” O’Connell calls it “the weird, deranged cousin” to 28 Years Later. (Rolling Stone Australia)
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The film is in theaters January 16, 2026.
What the first look shows
Chi Lewis-Parry as Alpha rage virus-carrier Samson Credit: MIYA MIZUNO/COLUMBIA PICTURES
Rolling Stone’s exclusive includes three production stills: O’Connell’s Sir Jimmy Crystal flanked by his blond, velour-suited “Jimmies,” Chi Lewis-Parry’s hulking Alpha carrier Samson, and a behind-the-scenes shot of O’Connell with DaCosta. The piece frames Jimmy’s cult as a rising force amid the infected. (Rolling Stone Australia)
O’Connell and DaCosta on set Credit: MIYA MIZUNO/COLUMBIA PICTURES
How DaCosta and O’Connell describe the tone
DaCosta says the link between Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later and her sequel is that both are “bonkers, idiosyncratic, and very artistically personal,” adding she will not try to make a Boyle film and that the new movie keeps a “unique, off-the-wall, surprising energy.” O’Connell calls The Bone Temple “the weird, deranged cousin” and notes the infected are not portrayed as purely antagonists.
Story setup
The sequel picks up shortly after 28 Years Later. Spike is forced into Jimmy’s violent cult, putting that faction on a collision course with Dr. Kelson and Samson. DaCosta says the film expands the world, deepens Kelson’s backstory, and explores his unsettling dynamic with Samson.
The first trailer drops on Wednesday.
