Now that 28 Years Later is finally out in theaters, fans of the original film now have a plethora of new characters to look forward to seeing more of in the next installment. When it was first announced that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland would be returning to the world of 28 Days Later, it was also revealed that the plan was to create a trilogy of movies, telling one cohesive story. Along with the obvious characters like Spike (Alfie Williams) and Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), another fan-favorite will be making an appearance in the sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
Director Danny Boyle told The Hollywood Reporter that, among the characters expected to be in the sequel, the Alpha zombie Samson will also be in the next film, saying “the character you saw at the end of the first film, Jack O’Connell, he’s a major character in the second film, with Ralph Fiennes — and the big Samson guy.” It’s an exciting development, and one that becomes obvious with hindsight after having seen the film, as Samson is spared from death not once, but twice.
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The Alphas are a new type of infected introduced in 28 Years Later, and they’re explained as having a mutated form of the rage virus that acts like something akin to a steroid. The big and hulking creatures can herd other infected people, using them to hunt survivors and animals alike in packs. Alphas are also shown to be smarter than the average zombie in the movie, being able to track down Spike on two different occasions. Along with their overwhelming strength, it makes sense that Samson would appear in The Bone Temple.
The New Kind of Infected in ’28 Years Later’ Opens the Door for a More Chaotic Sequel
Samson is suggested as being the father of the uninfected baby in 28 Years Later, as he chases Spike on two separate occasions after seeing him near the dead body of the infected mother. Given that Dr. Kelson left Samson sedated twice, it seems that Boyle, Garland, and The Bone Temple director, Nia DaCosta, have plans for the giant infected, whether that is to be an opposing force for various groups, or as a zombie that is weaponized by the surviving population.
Cillian Murphy’s character, Jim, used a person infected with the rage virus to take down military soldiers at the end of 28 Days Later, making it not entirely out of the question for another character to utilize the infected in the same way. However, Alpha has been shown in this first movie to be an extremely powerful infected type, making any exploitation of the character feel incredibly difficult.
Whatever the case is, it will be exciting to see Samson continue to wreak havoc in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The power and intellect of the Alphas in 28 Years Later were only briefly touched upon, meaning that there could still be more to their capabilities that won’t be seen until the sequel. Nia DaCosta and Alex Garland’s next movie will be ripe with potential for both gory kills and wild worldbuilding.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
