28 Years Later: Bone Temple Ending Explained – How Cillian Murphy Returns

by

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (often shortened to The Bone Temple) is the fourth movie in the series and a direct continuation of the 2025 film, 28 Years Later. The story begins immediately after the last movie left off, following Spike as he tries to survive in a frightening new world. He’s now part of the Jimmies, a group of Satanists who roam the Earth looking for sacrifices for Satan, whom they believe unleashed the Rage Virus to transform people into demons.

The endings of both 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple feel drastically different from the rest of their respective films. 28 Years Later shifts tone with the sudden appearance of Sir Jimmy Crystal and his followers, while The Bone Temple features a shocking conclusion and brings back Cillian Murphy as Jim, the protagonist from the first movie and a long-term survivor of the Rage virus.

The Bone Temple Focuses on Jim & His Daughter

The movie 28 Years Later picks up 28 years after the outbreak of the Rage Virus. The story follows Jim, who has been in a coma since the beginning of the crisis, as he awakens to a world overrun by the infected. Although Jim, Selena, and Hannah all survived the events of the first film, Cillian Murphy, who played Jim, didn’t reprise his role in the sequel. Many viewers thought an infected character in 28 Years Later resembled Murphy so strongly that it could have been Jim himself.

The popular fan theory gained traction because it offered a reason for Jim’s absence in both 28 Weeks Later (2007) and 28 Years Later. This was later confirmed when the actor announced a short cameo in The Bone Temple, which will also lay the groundwork for a future film.

As fans expected, Cillian Murphy did make a cameo in The Bone Temple. The scene shows Jim and his daughter inside a cozy country cottage – the same one featured at the end of 28 Days Later. Given his daughter’s appearance, it’s likely she’s the child of Jim’s former partner and love interest, Selena. Hannah, the young girl who was with them at the end of the first film, isn’t present, leaving her fate and Selena’s uncertain.

While making dinner for his daughter, Jim went over some lessons with her about their upcoming exam. They were discussing World War II and how, after the war, Germany and Japan received aid to help them rebuild and avoid financial collapse. Jim explained this was a deliberate effort to prevent a repeat of the conditions that followed World War I, which ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War. He stressed the value of understanding history to avoid making the same errors again.

I heard my dad’s daughter yell – Infected were coming! We both grabbed our weapons, ready to take them down if they got near our place. When we went to check it out, we saw a huge horde of those crazed Infected running wild. And get this – they were chasing two people, Spike and Kelly, who turned out to be the last surviving member of the Jimmies. We had to help!

Jim’s daughter asks if they should help two people who are desperately running to escape. Jim pauses briefly, then agrees. He’s worried about putting his daughter at risk by attracting the dangerous Infected, but he also knows he can’t ignore people in trouble. He wants to teach his daughter the importance of helping others, even when it’s difficult.

This Final Scene Sets the Groundwork for Jim to Step Back Into the Spotlight

The Bone Temple has a complex story with several key elements. The film will delve into the history of the Jimmies, explore Sir Jimmy Crystal’s position as the leader of a cult, and show how Spike unintentionally becomes involved. A secondary storyline focuses on Kelson and his experimental medical treatment, which he tests on a local Alpha he calls Samson. The film confirms that Kelson’s cocktail is effective in helping Samson fight the virus, suggesting a potential breakthrough.

Honestly, the film really comes down to Jim and his daughter in those final moments. It confirms he made it – he’s alive, and it seems he and Selena eventually had a child while they were struggling to survive on that island. The ending doesn’t tie up every loose end, and I don’t think it’s supposed to. It gives us just a glimpse of Jim still out there, still fundamentally a good person, still helping others. It’s a powerful note, suggesting that even in that brutal world, he hasn’t lost his core humanity – unlike some others, perhaps.

As a longtime fan, I was really intrigued by how they’re bringing Jim back into the fold in the new 28 Years Later film. It’s a smart move, and perfectly sets him up for a collision with Spike, who’s become a central figure in these recent additions to the franchise. Honestly, it feels like a natural way to re-establish Jim as a key player. While we don’t have a title for the third film yet, it is happening, and I’m guessing this meeting with Spike will quickly throw Jim right back into the intense, survival-driven action we all love.

By the end of The Bone Temple, Spike has ventured out on his own, leaving home behind. He’s dealt with the loss of his mother, who was very sick, and escaped the dangerous, violent rituals of the Jimmies. Now, he’s traveling with Kelly, the sole other person who survived the Jimmies, which will create challenges for Jim. While details are being kept secret, Cillian Murphy is expected to play a much larger role in the next installment of the series he began.

Read More

2026-01-16 16:37