Overview

• Jack O’Connell portrays Sir Jimmy Crystal, a cult leader whose flamboyant costume echoes Jimmy Savile’s tracksuits, jewelry and blond hair.
• Danny Boyle and Alex Garland confirm the character’s resemblance was intentional to explore how societies cling to and distort past icons.
• Viewers in the UK have expressed shock and discomfort at the Savile parallel given his history as a disgraced media figure.
• Alex Garland says the sequel, ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ arriving January 2026, will further examine how collective memory shapes the future.
• The film integrates British cultural references like Olivier’s Henry V footage and a Kipling poem to deepen its meditation on remembrance and survival.