28 Years Later Finale Reveals British Star’s Darkest Secret in Jaw-Dropping Twist

Has it really been nearly a quarter of a century since rage zombies first sprinted across our screens, leaving everyone to rethink their marathon training plans? Time sure flies when you’re running for your digital life. Here comes 28 Years Later, a legacy sequel that—while missing Cillian Murphy’s cheekbones—smashes its way into theaters brandishing a cast as stacked as my pantry during lockdown and an ending guaranteed to jackhammer your expectations into a fever dream. I mean, who decided “more kung-fu, cults, and Savile cosplay” was the natural next step in apocalyptic Britain? Between Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and a supporting cast you’d kill to be trapped in a safehouse with (well, almost), this isn’t just a movie, it’s a time capsule of all the wild pop culture mutations we never saw coming. So, before the spoilers wrestle you to the ground, ask yourself: are you ready for a zombie flick that takes more risks than my last attempt at baking sourdough? I know I wasn’t. LEARN MORE

28 Years Later is finally in theatres across the world, almost 23 years on from the release of 28 Days Later.

Since then Cillian Murphy has become a household name, writer Alex Garland has written some of the most beloved films in Hollywood, and director Danny Boyle is one of the UK’s all-time greats.

The new film has an absolutely stacked cast of known faces, namely Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell.

Whilst Cillian Murphy is not back quite yet for 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle and Garland have re-teamed for the legacy sequel – and they clearly have not played it safe.

This is clear by the film’s sure-to-be-controversial ending, which links the series in a bizarre way to one of Britain’s most horrifying celebrities.

Spoiler warning for the ending of 28 Years Later below

At the end of the film Alfie Williams, who plays Spike – the son of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s character, comes across a bizarre group of cultists.

Led by Jack O’Connell and proficient in kung-fu, they are all dressed up as celebrity TV presenter and horrifying sexual abuser Jimmy Savile.

No really, you read that correctly.

The scene is very short and takes place right at the end of 28 Years Later, setting up the sequel which has already been filmed.

Boyle and Garland have already spoken about how 28 Years Later and it’s sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple were filmed back-to-back, and that Jack O’Connell would play a larger role in the second film.

He plays the leader of ‘The Jimmies’, and they ‘dominated’ the second film per a Danny Boyle interview with BAFTA.

Whatever role that is, going by the ending to the film – it appears to be as the leader of a Jimmy Savile inspired cult.

In the world of the movie, the Rage virus erupted in the UK in 2002, by which point the real-life Savile had not been unmasked as a paedophile.

The characters are dressed as Savile (Evening Standard via Getty Images)

Viewers have taken to social media, discussing the bizarre twist that takes place in the final couple of minutes of the film.

One tweeted: “That has to the most unexpected ending to a movie, ever.”

Another fan reviewing the film said: “The ending is the most insane tonal shift I’ve experienced.”

A third said: “Sort of appreciate that 28 Years Later, an excellent film, ends on a note so weird it threatens to tank the whole thing lol.”

Bizarre ending or not, that has not stood in the way of the legacy sequel receiving plaudits across the board.

28 Years Later has debuted to a score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with many calling it the best of the series so far.

The Hollywood Reporter said in their glowing review: “One of the chief rewards of 28 Years Later is that it never feels like a cynical attempt to revisit proven material merely for commercial reasons.

“Instead, the filmmakers appear to have returned to a story whose allegorical commentary on today’s grim political landscape seems more relevant than ever.

“Intriguing narrative building blocks put in place for future instalments mean they can’t come fast enough.”

28 Years Later is available to watch in theatres now.