‘28 Years Later‘ is enjoyable for what it is, but one of the biggest takeaways is that it was clearly a set-up for the follow-up film, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’. While viewers could surely watch the latter without seeing either of the previous films, they will enjoy it much more if they know the lore and backstories of these characters.
The story picks up almost immediately after the events of ’28 Years Later’ as Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) is seen putting young Spike (Alfie Williams) to the test. This is a brilliant introduction to the villain of the film, as it becomes clear just how deranged and selfish he is during this fight. His fingers, which is what he calls his child followers, know no better to believe in this man who thinks he is the son of Satan. This sets up for some truly dark, twisted, and gory events that are much on par with the previous two films.
On the other side of things, we have Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson, whom we got to know a lot about in the previous film. This time he strikes up an unlikely “friendship” with the Alpha Infected Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Both of these plot points are captivating in their own way, as we move towards the climax of the film (which does not disappoint). The cinematography and Nia DaCosta’s directing choices are the best in the franchise, without a doubt. Being up close and personal with so many characters allows us to feel what they are feeling, whether it be terror, happiness, or peace.
Jack O’Connell will always and forever make a great villain. His role in ‘Sinners‘ is unforgettable, but he does something so phenomenal in ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ that he will surely be remembered for it as well. This is a career-best performance for him. He is a mentally unstable man who is drawn to violence. Throughout the entire movie, he is captivating, yes, but it is the third act where he really shines.
The same can be said for Ralph Fiennes, who has a lot of incredible roles under his belt, but you have never seen him like this before. What he does, especially in that third act, is going to be talked about for years to come. Chi Lewis-Parry is also given a lot more to play with this time around, and he proves why he should be on many studios’ radars.
’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ sets the bar high for 2026 films. Thanks to brilliant performances all around, a story that will have viewers on the edge of their seats, and some well placed jump scares, it is an unforgettable movie that ends the beloved franchise perfectly.
While the studio could certainly discover more story to be told, there is no need, as the ending just feels right.
’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ receives a score of 90 out of 100.
What is the plot of ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’?
Taking place after the events of the previous film, Spike (Alfie Williams) is inducted into Sir Jimmy Crystal’s (Jack O’Connell) gang of acrobatic killers in a post-apocalyptic Britain ravaged by the Rage Virus. Meanwhile, Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) forms a new relationship with potentially world changing consequences.
Who is in the cast of ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’?
(L to R) Chi Lewis-Parry and Ralph Fiennes star in ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ralph Fiennes and Chi Lewis-Parry about their work on ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’, reprising their characters from ’28 Years Later,’ working together to create their characters unusual friendship on screen, and director Nia DaCosta’s unique vision for this world.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Fiennes, Lewis-Parry, and Erin Kellyman.
Moviefone: To begin with, Ralph, can you talk about having the opportunity to play this character over the course of two films and what were some of the aspects of this character you were excited to explore this time around that you didn’t get a chance to explore in the last movie?
Ralph Fiennes: Well, yes, it’s great. Look, it’s great to play a part over two films. I don’t think I’ve done it before. No, of course I have with Voldemort (in the ‘Harry Potter’ series) and M (in the James Bond movies), I suppose. But this narrative is more in favor of Kelson’s story and Samson’s story together. Alex (Garland) has written a great part. We understand he’s a doctor, he takes palliative care of Jodie Comer‘s character in the last film. We understand he has that doctor’s instinct for care but he’s in a situation where he’s reliant on survival techniques. But I think this heightens his medical curiosity, which is also a human curiosity, isn’t it? If I want to cure someone, it’s because I believe in the value of mending a fellow human being. I think that’s totally innate to Kelson. His desire to mend, heal, and where he must accept death, it’s a recognition of the life that has been lived by the person who has died. I think he’s profoundly connected to the human experience and what it is to have lived and died. He’s got a mixture of the medic and the philosopher, and I think that’s explored in this. We see his goodness, and in the end, he puts himself on the line to protect young Spike (Alfie Williams). I think he’s a good guy.
MF: Chi, what was your approach to playing Samson and what are the challenges of portraying a character who is infected?
Chi Lewis-Parry: The cold, that was a big challenge. Dealing with the cold while being mostly naked, I found that the cold can really zap your energy. Samson is a very high energy character, and if he’s not high energy, he’s sitting or lying down, and again, exposed to the cold. It’s a mental state. Once the mind gives up, I feel like the body follows and then you’re in an uncontrollable shiver and that’s not good on camera. There was a mental stamina that I had to have to still appear like this big physically imposing destroyer in Samson. It was tough but manageable.
Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
MF: Ralph, what was it like working with director Nia DaCosta and can you talk about her unique vision for this world?
RF: Well, she was intent to come with a different filming approach. I think she made that clear to Danny (Boyle) and Alex, she didn’t want to ever attempt to imitate Danny’s directorial style. She came with a forensic delicacy. She loves the closeups and what’s going on inside the face of someone. The closeup is a great magnifier of human thought in a life and I think she’s edited the film to allow the closeups to breathe and I like that.
MF: Chi, can you talk about Samson’s unusual friendship with Dr. Kelson and what it was like working on the relationship with Ralph?
CLP: It was a complete dream come true. The relationship on screen is very much the relationship we have in real life because I have an affection for the man. I don’t hide it. If anything, I celebrate it. I think to have discovered a friend in this medium, I suppose, is odd and rare, especially one with such affection because I adore him, and he knows that. I’m so proud of being a part of this wonderful experience, and this wonderful film. I can’t wait for the universe to see it.
MF: Finally, Ralph, what was your experience like working with Chi on this project?
RF: Working with Chi was wonderful. He’s generous. He’s committed. He’s always present, ready to go, and ready to give of himself in the moment. That’s what you want with a good screen partner is that we dance together literally but we also dance together in our energies. He doesn’t speak much but all these scenes, he was transmitting feelings and thoughts and interior impulses which I could see in his face. That’s stuff just emerged between us. He comes onto the set with this wonderful generosity of spirit, and that’s rare.
What is the plot of ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’?
Taking place after the events of the previous film, Spike (Alfie Williams) is inducted into Sir Jimmy Crystal’s (Jack O’Connell) gang of acrobatic killers in a post-apocalyptic Britain ravaged by the Rage Virus. Meanwhile, Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) forms a new relationship with potentially world changing consequences.
Who is in the cast of ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’?
(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
‘28 Years Later,’ as the title suggests, picks up nearly three decades since London –– and the rest of the UK–– was overtaken by a virus that turned its victims into rage-filled monsters who savage their victims in 2002’s ’28 Days Later’.
While the “Z” word is never used, the Infected, for all their fast speed, are certainly a take on the zombie genre.
‘28 Weeks Later’, which was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, picked up the story months later as the country is slowly cleared of the infected, with evacuated civilians returning –– even as the danger persists.
Boyle’s recent movie explores what life is like for the people who are making a go of living in the country –– and the fact that while the Infected are still a threat, the original movie’s theme of man’s inhumanity to man, even in the case of a unifying situation, also emerges.
The story of young Spike (Alfie Williams), the main survivor we met in that film will continue in the ‘Bone Temple’ alongside that of Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson, who has his own dealings with the infected. And it’ll also have more of a focus on the weird Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), the weird warrior who pops up at the end.
Who is involved in the third ‘28 Years Later’ movie?
Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Alongside the returning cast, Garland –– who has written and produced the movies so far –– is back on script duty, and there is the distinct possibility that Boyle might also direct this one.
Plus, Oscar winner Cillian Murphy –– who played Jim in the original ‘28 Days Later’ (and –– spoiler alert –– shows up in ‘The Bone Temple’) is likely to have a meatier role in the new film.
When will the third ‘28 Years Later’ movie be in theaters?
The third movie has yet to be formally announced by Sony, but since ‘The Bone Temple’ was shot shortly after ‘28 Years Later,’ that will be in cinemas sooner rather than later: January 16, to be exact.
Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
(L to R) Chase Sui Wonders as Ava Brucks, Madelyn Cline as Danica Richards, Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie Ward, and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson in 2025’s ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer.’ Photo: Sony Pictures.
When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. A year later, their past comes back to haunt them and they’re forced to confront a horrifying truth: someone knows what they did last summer…and is hell-bent on revenge.
Former FBI Agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.
One year after her sister Melanie (Mala Mitchell) mysteriously disappeared, Clover (Ella Rubin) and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.
When her husband’s sex game goes wrong, Jessie (Carla Gugino), who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house, faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.
When Cole (Judah Lewis) stays up past his bedtime, he discovers that his hot babysitter (Samara Weaving) is part of a Satanic cult that will stop at nothing to keep him quiet.
Looking for work, Aaron (Patrick Brice) comes across a cryptic online ad: “$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated.” Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef (Mark Duplass), his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says, and his intentions are not at all pure.
After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and haunting voices, Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt’s (Scott Speedman) remote getaway becomes a psychological night of terror as three masked strangers invade. Now they must go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.
True-crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is in a slump; he hasn’t had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims’ home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
An immigrant (Cristina Rodlo) in search of the American dream is forced to take a room in a boarding house and soon finds herself in a nightmare from which she can’t escape.
In a small town in Massachusetts, four high school girls perform a ritual in an attempt to debunk the lore of Slender Man. When one of the girls goes mysteriously missing, they begin to suspect that she is, in fact, his latest victim.
When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) seeks out Elizabeth (Logan Browning), the new star pupil of her former school, the encounter sends both musicians down a sinister path with shocking consequences.
(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce. After a series of paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art.
Centuries-old vampire Count Dracula (Gary Oldman) travels to Victorian London, where he becomes obsessed with Mina Murray (Winona Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor, Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves), believing her to be the reincarnation of his long-lost love.
A scene from 1974’s ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’. Photo: Bryanston Distributing Company.
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
A scene from ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ has taken a sizeable chunk out of the domestic box office.
Gareth Edwards’ movie earned more than $317 million globally.
‘F1: The Movie’ was pushed to second place on the grid.
It would seem that audiences aren’t quite as over dinosaurs as ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ itself feared.
A hefty part of the early storyline for the new ‘Jurassic’ offering talks about how the giant beasts are seemingly unable to survive in the present-day client and that humanity, once enthralled by the reconstituted giants, is now more annoyed by the likes of an escaped example in New York slowly dying because it’s messing with the morning commute.
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But the new movie has clearly struck a chord with audiences, who turned out in droves to see it this past holiday weekend, notching $91.5 million over the three-day weekend, and thanks to an early Wednesday release to take advantage of Independence Day holiday filmgoing, it took $147.3 million over its first five days.
How did ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ fare internationally?
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ played well to audiences around the world. Opening in 82 markets, it earned $171 million outside the States, which, combined with its domestic total, put it at $318 million for this initial weekend.
The likes of China, the UK and Mexico were the big performers.
But how does ‘Rebirth’ compare to other ‘Jurassic World’ offerings?
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
That’s where the story looks a little less successful.
The numbers for ‘Rebirth’ are certainly impressive taken on their own, but compared to the most recent trilogy of dino-outings, it’s coming up short.
The new movie cost $180 million to produce, not including a hefty marketing budget, which admittedly is a smaller figure than the previous three (one benefit of having Gareth Edwards, a man who know how to deliver effects spectacle on lower budgets, in the director’s chair). It may not need to hit a billion to be profitable, but Universal will certainly hope it gets there (or close), given that the other ‘World’ movies all crossed the benchmark.
Add to that the pressure for ‘Rebirth’ to spawn a new trilogy of its own. This is certainly a solid start –– now we see whether this thing has legs.
Here’s David A. Gross, of the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm on the film’ success:
“The series has been especially good overseas and, so far, foreign business is outstanding. Dinosaur action is understood in all languages and across all cultures.”
This was Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr celebrating its success:
“ ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ is exactly what audiences want to see in a summer blockbuster: a great cast, great direction and great visuals. Word of mouth is phenomenal, which points to a great run throughout the summer.”
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
With ‘Rebirth’ as the weekend’s only new wide release (no one wanted to go up against the return of the dinosaurs, even via counter-programming), the success of the film shoved the competition down a space or two.
‘F1: The Movie’, which stars Brad Pitt as a skilled yet down-on-his-luck racing driver recruited to be part of a Formula One team, was a distant second, taking home $26.1 million from 3,732 venues in its second weekend of release.
The movie, which has made $109 million in North America and $293.6 million worldwide after 10 days in theaters, has officially surpassed director Ridley Scott’s 2023 historical epic ‘Napoleon’ ($221 million) as Apple’s highest-grossing movie.
That is perhaps not as impressive as it might seem given the company’s low level of output so far and underperforming theatrical releases. But it’s still a boost.
Even with a solid take so far, ‘F1’ will need to stay on track significantly, as it cost $250 million to make, let alone market.
In third, the live-action adaptation of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ earned $9.7 million domestically. The movie has so far taken $224 million domestically and $516 million globally to date.
Fourth was the fellow family friendly Pixar offering ‘Elio’, about a kid mistaken for an ambassador for Earth by aliens, continues to hugely underperform. It fell to fourth place with $4.9 million from 3,235 theaters in its third week of release. The intergalactic adventure has earned just $54 million in North America and $96 million globally, and is shaping up to be among Pixar’s lowest-grossing movies.
At fifth place we find ‘28 Years Later’ with $4.6 million from 2,917 venues, a 53% drop from last weekend. After three weekends on the big screen, the horror sequel has amassed $60.2 million domestically and $125.8 million globally against a $60 million budget.
Follow-up ‘The Bone Temple’ is due in January. Has the first film done well enough to crack open Sony’s wallet for funding of planned third movie? Time will tell!
What’s the future for the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise?
Though no formal plans have been announced, Universal and Amblin are, as mentioned previously, hoping this will lead to a new trilogy.
Whether that means with the surviving characters of ‘Rebirth’ or a completely new dino adventure remains to be seen. But the franchise certainly still has some teeth at the box office.
Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
’28 Years Later’ has an ending that is dividing audiences.
The ending is a perfect transition into the next film, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’.
The final scene could have been an end-credit scene.
SPOILER ALERT: Some spoilers for ‘28 Years Later’ below.
The ending of ‘28 Years Later‘ is getting people to talk about the movie, that’s for sure. Some love it, some hate it, some are indifferent to it, but either way you look at it, that final scene is splitting audiences. People online have gone so far as to say that the end completely ruined the movie for them.
While it does shift the movie tonally, it feels as if there is a reason for that. Nia DaCosta‘s follow-up, ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple‘, releases January 16, 2026, and this is likely a transition into that. It also ties together the opening scene as well as hints that were sprinkled throughout the film in an interesting way.
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’28 Years Later’ takes place, you guessed it, 28 years after the infection prominently featured in ‘28 Days Later‘ and ‘28 Weeks Later‘ started. It is not necessary to have seen the other movies, as this one follows a new group of people and does a decent job of catching viewers up on where they need to be to understand it.
Spike (Alfie Williams) has turned twelve and his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) believes it is time for him to go zombie hunting on the mainland and get his first kill. His mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), is very sick, although they do not know with what. After discovering there is a doctor on the mainland, he leaves the safety of his community with her to try to help her.
What follows is a terrifying adventure as they navigate a plethora of zombies and threats – including a pregnant zombie who births a non-infected child, something that will surely come back around later.
After Spike drops a newborn baby off at his community, he decides that he needs some time to clear his head and wander the countryside. You see, this movie has always been about him. About his relationship with his parents and his journey into adulthood. The trailers showcased Spike and Jamie, but that was in an effort to keep a lot of surprises, twists, and turns hidden so audiences can experience them on the big screen.
As he is cooking fish and relaxing, a zombie horde attacks. He holds his own for a while, but thankfully Jimmy (Jack O’Connell) shows up with some friends to take down the rest of the horde in a wild, ridiculous, over-the-top, yet extremely fun action sequences. The internet is calling this group Power Rangers and the Tracksuit Mafia, because they all wear brightly colored outits. Jimmy wears a crown on his head and definitely a weird guy, but this is not the first time we have seen him.
The opening scene showed a young Jimmy at the start of the infection. His father was a priest and welcomed the zombies, claiming that it was a prophecy being fulfilled. Jimmy hid in the church as he watched his father be devoured, so it makes sense that his brain might have snapped a little at that moment.
While we did not see him at all throughout the rest of the movie, we did see his name a few times. It was carved into the hanging zombie that Spike and his father come across early on, as well as written on one of the walls that they passed. There are likely even more references to him that eagle-eyed viewers can spot.
It might seem like this final scene comes completely out of left field, but it instantly felt like a transition into the next movie. Looking around the internet, so many have forgotten about Nia DaCosta’s ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ and the fact that it not only was shot together with this movie, but that it is releasing in January.
When a director takes over the franchise for another director, often they collaborate on the pivotal scene that leads from one to another. For example, The Russo Brothers directed the end-credit scene in ‘Thunderbolts*‘ because it is going to lead into ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘. Surely she had some involvement, and potentially even directed this divisive scene.
Jack O’Connell shined in ‘Sinners‘ as Remmick, a cenuries-old vampire who has some quirks of his own. He is a little weird and a little twisted, so it should come as no surprise that he is channeling a little bit of that into his ’28 Years Later’ character, Jimmy. Plus, it makes sense storywise for him to be a little off.
The Ending Would Have Been Easier To Digest As An End-Credit Scene
Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’), (L) and Danny Boyle (director, ’28 Years Later’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
All of this to say that the final sequence should have been an end-credit scene. This would have helped audiences separate the two with it not being such a stark difference from the majority of the movie, and certainly the third act. The tonal shift seems to be what it holding a lot of people back from allowing themselves to not only enjoy it, but to get excited about what is coming next.
It would have been easy enough to start rolling the credits when Spike was cooking the fish, but then during a mid-credit or end-credit scene show the zombie horde attacking with the lead-in to him meeting Jimmy and his crew. This would have helped viewers to see this as the start of the next movie, rather than an ending that comes out of nowhere for this one.
Alex Etel in ‘Millions’. Photo: Pathé Distribution.
Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What’s a kid to do?
Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Beach’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Twenty-something Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumors state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss – excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.
(L to R) Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz in ‘A Life Less Ordinary’. Photo: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.
A couple of angels, O’Reilly (Holly Hunter) and Jackson (Delroy Lindo), are sent to Earth to make sure that their next supervised love-connection succeeds. They follow Celine (Cameron Diaz), a spoiled rich girl who has just accidentally shot a suitor and, due to a misunderstanding, is kidnapped by janitor Robert (Ewan McGregor). Although Celine quickly frees herself, she stays with Robert for thrills. O’Reilly and Jackson pursue, hoping to unite the prospective lovers.
(L to R) Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox and Ewan McGregor in ‘Shallow Grave’. Photo: Rank Film Distributors.
When David (Christopher Eccleston), Juliet (Kerry Fox), and Alex (Ewan McGregor) find their new roommate dead with a large sum of money, they agree to hide the body and keep the cash. However, this newfound fortune gradually corrodes their friendship.
(L to R) Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller in ‘T2 Trainspotting’. Photo: TriStar Pictures.
After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewan Bremner) and Begbie (Robert Carlyle).
James Franco in ‘127 Hours’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s (James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Himesh Patel in ‘Yesterday’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
A struggling musician (Himesh Patel) realizes he’s the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate reality where the group was forgotten.
(L to R) Vincent Cassel, James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson in ‘Trance’. Photo:
A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.
It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Chris Evans in ‘Sunshine’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.
Michael Fassbender in ‘Steve Jobs’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.
Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs — and it’s absolutely impossible to contain.
Ewan McGregor in ‘Trainspotting’. Photo: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston) had three children (Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Luke Wilson) and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary — all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father’s fault. “The Royal Tenenbaums” is the story of the family’s sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter.
An infected in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
Director Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later,’ released in 2003, gave a fresh new spark of life (pardon the expression) to the reanimated dead. Well, hold up: the rabid, frenzied, flesh-tearing creatures of Boyle’s groundbreaking film were not zombies risen from the grave, but living humans infected with a powerful bioweapon – nicknamed the Rage Virus – that turned them into fast-moving, savage, homicidal murderers within minutes.
Boyle’s overwhelmingly violent Infected (as they came to be called), the use of digital video cameras for maximum flexibility, the filming in real locations, and the emphasis on character – particularly Cillian Murphy’s Jim – all contributed to the movie’s success and its impact on the zombie subgenre of horror, no matter what Boyle called his monsters. ’28 Weeks Later,’ a lackluster sequel without the involvement of either Boyle or writer Alex Garland (later to write and direct ‘Ex Machina,’‘Civil War,’ and ‘Warfare’), followed five years later, and rumors have persisted ever since about a third movie – with Boyle allegedly interested in returning.
Now it’s happened: Boyle and Garland have returned respectively to direct and write ’28 Years Later,’ which – as the title confirms – takes place decades after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus. And true to form, the two filmmakers have once again crafted a horror epic that, while it may not feel as groundbreaking as the original, is incredibly intense, visceral, and atmospheric, while providing characters whose fates we come to care very much about.
Story and Direction
Director Danny Boyle for Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Anthony Ghnassia.
An opening card tells us that the Rage Virus was driven back from continental Europe but confined to the British mainland, with a strict quarantine in place and the survivors inside left to fend for themselves. Admittedly, there’s a rather large hole in the story here if you want to think about it: have there really been no attempts in nearly three decades to contact anyone living inside the quarantine zone, or find a way to rescue them? Perhaps Boyle and Garland are saying something about the transactional, indifferent relationship among nations now, in which a nation’s collapse leads others to push away as if they don’t want to get caught in its wake and pulled under with it, but it still sits there as a gap in the worldbuilding.
Otherwise that worldbuilding is largely well-handled. The bulk of the film takes place among the community of Holy Island, a thousand-acre patch floating off the coast and connected by a causeway. The community there is a rural, agrarian one, isolating themselves with heavy fortifications at the causeway entrance and the water around them doing the rest (their form of government is never quite explained, but they’re damn good at throwing drunken, almost ritualistic parties).
It’s here we meet 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams), his dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his mum Isla (Jodie Comer), as Spike prepares for a kind of rite of passage in which he and his dad will cross the causeway to the mainland so that Spike can kill his first Infected. Isla, however, is not completely on board with it, but can’t do much about it either: she is suffering from a malady that causes her great pain, mood disorders, and memory loss, and since Holy Island has no doctors there is no way to determine what is afflicting her.
Jamie and Spike’s trip to the mainland – the rules are that if they don’t come back, no one will go out to look for them – is not exactly a walk in the park. They’re pursued by both slow-moving Infected that have bloated into almost slug-like form and the fast-moving brand seen in the previous two movies, only now mostly filthy, naked, and barely recognizable as human. There are also “alphas,” leader-type Infected whose bodies have been expanded to strongman proportions by the Rage Virus and are, if anything, even more relentless and brutal than the regular flavor.
Spike makes his first kill, although he bungles the rest (“the more you kill, the easier it gets,” his dad offers helpfully), and learns that there is an insane man living further out in the land who may have once been a doctor. “There are strange people on the mainland,” Jamie warns, but after father and son return to Holy Island and a lavish celebration – during which Spike sees Jamie do something that is hurtful to the boy – Spike turns on his dad, smuggles Isla from the house, and secretly takes her to the mainland, where he hopes to locate the doctor, Ian Kelson, and see if he can make his mother well again.
All this plays out in a visual aesthetic that pays homage to the original film but enhances it. Boyle uses up to 20 iPhones to shoot some sequences, including a sort of version of “bullet time” for a number of the film’s very gory kills. Yet the film is also shot in an ultra-wide 2:76:1 ratio, giving it an expansive feel while retaining the intimacy of the original movie. The editing is quick, as in ’28 Days,’ and often choppy, mirroring the chaos of the world in which the story is set, while certain scenes – like Spike and Jamie’s frantic dash back on the causeway against a glittering star-filled sky – have a dark fairy tale patina to them.
There are other sequences, some even in broad daylight with the backdrop of pristine green fields and mountains behind them, that border on nightmarish due to the frightening assault of the Infected at nearly every turn. There are moments of beauty as well, such as a late scene between Spike and Isla in the temple of bones glimpsed in the trailers. And there are bucketfuls of in-your-face gore as the Infected kill or are killed, with plenty of guts, gouts of blood, and decapitated heads on hand (not to mention one skin-crawling yet eventually poignant scene on an abandoned train) to firmly establish this new entry’s credentials for the zombie horror crowd.
But best of all, there is a great story behind it all, anchored by terrific characters like Jamie, Spike, Isla, and later, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). Although the script can feel episodic and there are some shifts in tone here and there that don’t quite line up, the fate of these people and the ordeal they go through is riveting enough to carry the movie to an ending that some folks may find irritating (because it all but advertises the sequel, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ which is due out next January).
There are three outstanding performances in ’28 Years Later.’ The first is by Alfie Williams, making his motion picture debut as Spike. This is really Spike’s story, a chronicle of his passage from brave but still nervous boy into a stronger, more resilient, more mature warrior, and Williams handles it with confidence, charisma, and a lack of standard child actor tricks.
Next is Jodie Comer, whose Isla takes more of a central role in the film’s second half as she and Spike venture onto the mainland. Her body and mind wracked by her illness, Isla is trying to break through the fog that envelops her even as her memories splinter and merge. The excellent Comer portrays all this with great empathy and a tragic nobility, showing us why she’s one of the best actors to emerge in recent years.
And then there’s Ralph Fiennes, whose Dr. Kelson seems genuinely eccentric and bizarrely funny when we first meet him, but who deepens into a figure of great compassion and dignity even if he walks around coated in iodine (“the Rage Virus doesn’t like it at all,” he notes). Fiennes brings his effortless gravitas to a role that could have been a stock nutty survivalist but is instead imbued with humanity and grace. His bone temple is a “memento mori,” a remembrance of the dead, that has a stark beauty all its own, and Fiennes’ work reflects that.
As for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, he’s fine. Sturdy, fearless, rugged, Jamie is a pillar of the community, a loving but tough dad, and unfortunately a flawed man who loses the trust of his son. But the character is not as deeply portrayed as the others, and largely sits out the second half of the movie. The other notable player is Edvin Ryding as Erik, a Swedish soldier who gets trapped on the mainland and spends some time with Spike and Isla. Ryding provides some welcome comic relief as he describes modern conveniences in the outside world that Spike has no idea exist – and gets a big laugh when she shows Spike a photo of his cosmetically enhanced girlfriend, whose filler-boosted face remains Spike of a friend’s allergic reaction to shellfish.
Like ’28 Days Later,’ and unlike, say, the socio-politically minded zombie films of George A. Romero, ’28 Years Later’ shies away from sociological or political themes. Yet there is something here about the way that societies crumble so quickly and yet take so long to reform, as well as the way in which humans can fall so rapidly into savagery. There are tantalizing questions raised about who or what else lives on the mainland, as well as what exactly is going on in the outside world, some of which will perhaps be answered in ‘The Bone Temple’ or a third film.
But what these films do continue to be about – aside from Boyle and Garland providing audiences with an intense, heart-pounding experience from start to finish – is the way in which individual human beings will strive to be kind and do good even among the most horrific of circumstances. Whether it’s in 28 days, 28 weeks, or 28 years, this is a message that bears repeating.
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What is the plot of ’28 Years Later’?
It’s been almost three decades since the Rage Virus escaped a bioweapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. When one of a group of survivors leaves their heavily defended island on a mission to the mainland, he discovers horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Summer 2025 is almost here and with it comes the sun, the beach and summer movies!
The summer movie season will officially begin on May 2nd when Marvel’s highly anticipated ‘Thunderbolts*‘, which stars Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, opens in theaters.
Anna Kendrick stars as Stephanie Smothers in ‘Another Simple Favor’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
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Nicolas Cage stars in ‘The Surfer’. Photo: Saturn Films.
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David Dastmalchian in ‘Rosario’. Photo: Mucho Mas Releasing.
Wall Street stockbroker, Rosario Fuentes (Emerald Toubia), returns to her grandmother’s apartment after her sudden death. While sorting through her Grandmother’s belongings, Rosario uncovers a horrifying secret—a hidden chamber filled with occult artifacts tied to dark generational rituals. As supernatural occurrences plague her, Rosario must confront her family’s buried secrets and face the truth about the sacrifices and choices they made.
Rainey Qualley as “Astor” in the music drama ‘Off The Record’. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution, a True Foe production.
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Shia LaBeouf and Toby Kebbell star in an emotional, action-packed film about a prize fighter’s battles both inside and outside the ring. When a battered boxer past his prime finds his dreams and his relationships on the ropes, he falls back in with a dangerous crowd and has to take the biggest swing of his life to reclaim his hope and his family.
Swamp Dogg in ‘Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.
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Wyatt Russell in ‘Broke’. Photo: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
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(L to R) Omar Sy as Isaac and Kerry Washington as Kyrah in ‘Shadow Force’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Kyrah (Kerry Washington) and Isaac (Omar Sy) were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called Shadow Force. They broke the rules by falling in love, and in order to protect their son (Jahleel Kamara), they go underground. With a large bounty on their heads, and the vengeful Shadow Force hot on their trail, one family’s fight becomes all-out war.
‘Clown in a Cornfield’ opens in theaters on May 9th. Photo: RLJE Films & Shudder.
Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.
(L to R) Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in ‘Friendship’. Photo: A24.
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Don Johnson in ‘Unit 234’. Photo: Brainstorm Media.
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‘Watch The Skies’ opens in theaters on May 9, 2025. Photo: XYZ Films & Flawless.
When a foster home placed teenage rebel suspects that her father is not dead but kidnapped by UFOs, she takes help from a UFO association to find out the truth. Together, they embark on a risky adventure that takes them far beyond the laws borders and into a world filled with UFO expeditions, conspiracies and inexplicable phenomena.
(L to R) Shia LaBeouf and Evan Jonigkeit in ‘Henry Johnson’. Photo: 1993.
Henry Johnson (Evan Jonigkeit) navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way, Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty.
Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.
(L to R) Troy Gentile as “Mason Kelly,” Riele Downs as “Killer Queen,” Page Kennedy as “Big Farmer Jay” and Grace Caroline Currey as “Violet” in the thriller horror comedy ‘A Breed Apart’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
When Violet (Grace Caroline Currey) accepts an invitation to a private island with some of the world’s most famous social influencers, she expects a weekend of unrivaled viral opportunity. She soon becomes part of her own horrific reality show when the guests are pitted against each other to capture the island’s legendary man-eating dogs before they become victims of the monstrous canines.
(L to R) Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn and Hayley Atwell plays Grace in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
After escaping a calamitous train crash, Ethan (Tom Cruise) realizes The Entity is stashed aboard an old Russian submarine, but a foe from his past named Gabriel is also on the trail.
‘The Surrender’ opens in theaters on May 23rd. Photo: Shudder.
A fraught mother-daughter relationship that is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead. As the bizarre and brutal resurrection ritual spirals out of control, both women must reconcile their differences as they fight for their lives, and for each other.
(L to R) Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Ralph Macchio in Columbia Pictures ‘Karate Kid: Legends’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn’t want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Kōki, in John Maclean’s ‘Tornado’. Courtesy of Norman Wilcox- Geissen. An IFC Films release.
A Japanese puppeteer’s daughter (Kōki) gets caught up with criminals when their show crosses paths with a crime gang, led by Sugarman (Tim Roth) and his son Little Sugar (Jack Lowden).
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Murray Close.
Taking place during the events of ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum‘, the film follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.
Nick Kroll in ‘I Don’t Understand You’. Photo: Vertical.
Stranded in rural Italy without transportation or language skills, an American couple on the verge of adopting tries to reconnect during a disastrous vacation, as their fears and relationship problems threaten to boil over.
(L to R) Christian Convery “Ethan” and Garrett Hedlund as “Caleb” in the Crime, Drama, Thriller ‘Barron’s Cove’, a Well Go USA release. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Barron’s Cove follows a father with a violent past (Garrett Hedlund) as he grieves the sudden loss of his only child. Convinced of a cover-up and intent on obtaining answers about his son’s death, he kidnaps the troubled boy he holds responsible – the son of a prominent local politician – which ignites a media firestorm and frenzied manhunt. But as he grows ever closer to uncovering the truth, he is left to wonder whether his pursuers are really seeking to protect the boy, or merely the secrets he keeps.
Jai Courtney in ‘Dangerous Animals’. Photo: IFC Films.
A savvy and free-spirited surfer is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer. Held captive on his boat, she must figure out how to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.
‘Best Wishes to All’ opens in theaters on June 6th. Photo: Shudder.
A young woman’s visit to her grandparents’ home leads to the discovery of what’s brought them happiness, a revelation that will lead her to question her choices, sanity and reality itself.
(L to R) Orlando Bloom as “Marlon,” Bryce Dallas-Howard as “Kat,” and Nick Mohammed as “Hugh” in the action comedy ‘Deep Cover’. Photo courtesy of Peter Mountain/ Metronome Film.
Three improv actors are hired by the police to help stage low-level stings. Their instinct to “always say yes” without breaking character leads them deep inside London’s criminal underworld.
Mason Thames (right) as Hiccup with his Night Fury dragon, Toothless, in Universal Pictures’ live-action ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ written and directed by Dean DeBlois. Photo: Universal Pictures.
On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup (Mason Thames) stands apart, defying centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.
It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Elio (Yonas Kibreab), a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films.
Racing legend Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.
‘Hot Milk’ opens in theaters on June 27th. Photo: IFC Films.
Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey) travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the shamanic Dr. Gomez, a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair. But in the sultry atmosphere of this sun-bleached town Sofia, who has been trapped by her mother’s illness all her life, finally starts to shed her inhibitions, enticed by the persuasive charms of enigmatic traveller Ingrid (Vickey Krieps).
Something bad happened to Agnes (Eva Victor). But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least. When a beloved friend visits on the brink of a major milestone, Agnes starts to realize just how stuck she’s been, and begins to work through how to move forward.
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion‘, covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.
Superman (David Corenswet), a cub reporter in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.
Against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel’s First Family is forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, while defending Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.
(from left) Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) in DreamWorks Animation’s ‘The Bad Guys 2’, directed by Pierre Perifel. Photo: Universal Pictures.
The now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.
(L to R) Ana Sophia Heger and Taron Egerton in ‘She Rides Shotgun’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate (Taron Egerton) must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly (Ana Sphia Heger), at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly form a bond forged under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive — and she teaches him what unconditional love truly means.
(L to R) Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Years after Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna (Lindsay Lohan) endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover lightning might indeed strike twice.
(L to R) Mel Jarnson as “Brooke,” Jamie Campbell Bower as “Alexander Babtiste,” Madison Iseman as “Emily,” and Aaron Dominguez as “Christian” in the Horror film ‘Witchboard’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
Emily (Madison Iseman) and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez) discover a mysterious Wiccan artifact as they prepare to open a bistro in New Orleans’ French Quarter. A darkness descends over Emily as she becomes obsessed with the board’s power of divination and ability to summon spirits, and Christian seeks the help of Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower), a mysterious occult expert who’s hiding secrets of his own.
Peter Dinklage as “Toxie” in the action, comedy, horror film, ‘The Toxic Avenger’, a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Yana Blajeva/Legendary Pictures.
A horrible toxic accident transforms downtrodden janitor, Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) into a new evolution of hero: The Toxic Avenger.
(Top row L to R) Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’), Bob Persichetti (director,’ Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’), Phil Lord (producer, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’), Tyree Dillihay (director, ‘GOAT’), Zach Cregger (director, ‘Resident Evil’), (Bottom row L to R) Darren Aronofsky (director, ‘Caught Stealing’), Justin K. Thompson (director, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’), Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’), Danny Boyle (director, ’28 Years Later’), and Kogonada (director, ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Eric Charbonneau / Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Preview:
Sony has made its big presentation to the 2025 CinemaCon crowd.
‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ and ‘28 Years Later’ were among the major titles showcased.
The studio also showed footage from ‘Karate Kid: Legends.’
Theater owners are suffering right now, with takings down compared to last year, even with a solid start to 2025. So the cinema chain owners allied under what is now known as Cinema United –– formerly the National Association of Theater Owners –– will be looking for good news and plenty of potentially successful movies from the studios.
The mantra for the big cinema chains was “survive ‘till ’25,” and we’re here. Which is where CinemaCon comes in –– the big show in Vegas each year where the companies roll out stars and footage to tease what they have in the coming year.
First up was Sony, home of the ‘Spider-Verse‘ and the ‘Karate Kid‘, and we can expect both to show up somehow in the studio’s presentation.
With two and a half hours of show time to fill, the company kicked off like any student forced to give a verbal presentation –– talking about other things, including a sizzle reel of 2024 movies and lots of talk about HDR and distribution. Which is what you get when you’re at a show intended for theater owners.
But then the presentation proper began with Paul Rudd and Jack Black introducing their new comedic take on cult classic, ‘Anaconda,’ cracking a couple of jokes before segueing to welcome Sony movie boss Tom Rothman to the stage. Rothman began his opening remarks with a quip that Seth Rogen’s character in new Apple TV+ series ‘The Studio’ is based on him.
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According to Rothman, the focus of Sony’s presentation will be the filmmakers who have been laboring to produce their new output, and what better choice to start with than Danny Boyle?
Danny Boyle (director, ’28 Years Later’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
The long-anticipated third entry in the ‘28 Days Later’ franchise is also technically the launch of a new trilogy, with original duo Boyle and writer Alex Garland back behind the camera.
As the title suggests, it’s set years after the original movie set a virus that turns infected humans into rageful creatures upon London and the wider environs on England.
Boyle was there to introduce the premiere of the new trailer for the movie, which had a hard act to follow given the impressively impactful first teaser.
We’re introduced to a new world order for the country –– save havens are in place, where the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson‘s Jamie and his family live. But an ill-feted hunting trip strands him in the infected-infested outside world. We also see and hear Ralph Fiennes, a rugged survivor. We’re also told that Cillian Murphy will be back for the new movie.
Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Boyle mentions that DaCosta is in production now on that movie, and that they’re looking for financing for the third. So if anyone has some quarters they can spare…
The first movie seethes onto screens on June 20th.
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Unlikely to need more in the way of cash is a certain animated sequel…
Justin K. Thompson (director, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’) (L), Bob Persichetti (director, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’) and Phil Lord (producer, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Phil Lord and directors Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson took the stage to announce that the third ‘Spider-Verse’ outing will be “bigger than the past two,” and a massive movie, in fact. So massive that it’ll be the first Sony animated pic to show on IMAX screens.
The movie, as you might have suspected from the cliffhanger ending of the second, picks up immediately, so no waiting to see what happens with Miles and co.
We also finally know when the next ‘Spider-Verse’ movie is landing… Prepare to wait until June 4th, 2027 to see this one. Yep, more than two years away!
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That’s followed by a newcomer to the CinemaCon stage…
Darren Aronofsky (director, ‘Caught Stealing’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
This is Darren Aronofsky’s first trip to CinemaCon, and he’s here to promote ‘Caught Stealing,’ his new crime thriller ‘Caught Stealing.’
Zach Cregger (director, ‘Resident Evil’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
The next adaptation of the hugely popular video game franchise comes from ‘Barbarian’ director Zach Cregger, who is in the early stages of putting this one together. He promised it’ll be nothing like the Paul W.S. Anderson/Milla Jovovich movies, but still call it a ‘Wild Ride.’
Here’s what he said:
“The movie I’m going to make is unlike any of the previous adaptations…It’s a story that follows one central protagonist from point A to point B as they descend into hell.”
Though only currently in pre-production, the movie has a September 18th, 2026 date on the books.
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And now the whistlestop tour of Sony’s slate continues with…
Stars Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie joined director Kogonada to talk up the fantastical romantic adventure, and debut the first trailer.
Expect that on September 19th.
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A change of pace to…
‘GOAT’
The animated animals-playing-basketball movie is produced by sporting icon Steph Curry, and he appeared via video to introduce the movie, which will be out on February 13th, 2026.
Following ‘GOAT,’ it was the turn of Sony distribution chief Adam Bergerman to discuss release windows, which if we’re honest, is catnip to the CinemaCon crowd.
He also mentioned the company’s continued investment in anime, spotlighted by a clip from…
From there back to more live-action matters, with word that a new ‘Insidious’ movie, co-produced by Blumhouse will be in theaters next year (August 21st, 2026, to be exact).
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ opens in theaters on July 18th, 2025.
For this one, it’s a case of Classic Story, New Kids as a new group of teens will try to cover up a road accident only to be stalked by a hook-handed killer.
Ben Wang (L) and Ralph Macchio, from ‘Karate Kid: Legends’, at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
The next iteration of the ‘Karate Kid’ movie franchise blends the classic (Ralph Macchio as student-turned-sensei Daniel LaRusso) with the reboot (Jackie Chan’s Sifu Han) as the two teachers combine forces to tutor the new Karate Kid, Ben Wang’s Li Fong.
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A live karate demonstration gave way to Macchio and Wang on stage, who talked up the new movie, and showed a couple of clips and the first trailer.
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
The latest Spidey outing brings Tom Holland swinging back to our screens for Sony’s collaboration with Marvel and the MCU proper.
With Destin Daniel Cretton taking over directorial duties, he was on stage to hype the film.
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
But we also heard from star Holland, who appeared via video from the set of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ to extol how the new ‘Spider-Man’ will be a “fresh start” for the franchise.
And that’s seemingly confirmed by the title: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’ Which makes some sense given the world-memory-wiping antics of ‘No Way Home.’
It’ll land on July 31st, 2026.
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But wait! There’s more. Tom Rothman returns to the stage to talk about Sam Mendes’ four Beatles biopics, one each focused on John, Paul George and Ringo (kids, ask your grandparents).
It’s being touted as a four-movie cinematic event.
The bold idea for this one is four separate movies, each one focusing on a different band member’s perspective, all shot across one year and then released together in April 2028, to make, as Rothman touts, “the first bingeable theatrical experience.”
And here comes the confirmation of the official cast…
‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’, directed by Sam Mendes. (L to R) Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison). In theaters April 2028. Photo by: John Russo.
Thus ends the Sony presentation. Some hefty hitters there, and a good mix of horror and Spider-action. We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out.
(L to R) Bob Persichetti (director, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’), Justin K. Thompson (director, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’), Phil Lord (producer, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’), Nia DaCosta (director, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’) and Tyree Dillihay (director, ‘GOAT’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Eric Charbonneau / Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
