Speaking to JoBlo while promoting the 30th anniversary of Trainspotting, Boyle confirmed that production on 28 Years Later III missed its 2026 window and is now aimed at 2027. “It’s set in an area of Britain where you can only film at certain times of the year,” he said. “We ran out of time this year — we literally ran out of time. So it’ll be, hopefully, fingers crossed, next year. But there’s the enthusiasm there, and Alex has done a wonderful script for it.”
The third film’s path has been complicated by the middling performance of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Nia DaCosta’s January 2026 entry in the planned trilogy. Made on a $63 million budget, the film earned just $58.5 million worldwide — a steep drop from the $151 million global haul posted by Boyle’s own 28 Years Later the previous summer. The underwhelming result cast early doubt on whether Sony would proceed with part three.
Those fears appear to have been put to rest. Sony confirmed it would make a third installment with Cillian Murphy — star of the original 28 Days Later — and Boyle returning to direct. Murphy appeared briefly in The Bone Temple, a cameo designed to set up his fuller role in the concluding chapter. The filmmakers were open about his appearance throughout the production, though Sony largely kept him out of the marketing.
Signs of momentum have been building quietly. Alfie Williams, who plays Spike across the trilogy’s first two films, posted a photo on Instagram showing him practising archery with the caption “It’s great to be back!” — widely read as a signal that pre-production was underway.
The original 28 Years Later focused on a community of survivors on Holy Island, also known as Lindisfarne, a remote tidal island off the Northumberland coast — a location whose narrow filming windows are dictated by weather and tidal access. That geography, rather than any creative or financial hesitation, is what pushed the final film into next year.
Garland’s script is described as complete, Boyle’s commitment is firm, and the shoot — seasonal constraints permitting — appears set for 2027.
