• Danny Boyle's "28 Years Later" shows how the Rage Virus has evolved since 2002's "28 Days Later."
• The actor Chi Lewis-Parry plays an Alpha: a super-strong zombie.
• The British star is 6-feet-8-inches tall and was an MMA fighter before becoming an actor.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "28 Years Later."

"28 Years Later" has got horror fans talking about its controversial ending, the fact it was shot using iPhones — and the moment a hulking zombie charges naked at the young main character, Spike, and his mother.

The character, Samson, is an Alpha, meaning he was infected with a mutated version of the Rage Virus that made him super-strong.

Chi Lewis-Parry, the British actor who plays Samson, has since revealed that he wasn't nude filming the scene because Alfie Williams, who plays Spike, was 13 at the time.

"Yeah, they were prosthetics. There's a law that states, I think, because he's a child, you're allowed to have nudity but it has to be fake nudity. It was to protect him," Lewis-Parry told Variety in an interview published on Sunday. "And, as well, I'm really friendly and am always hugging people. I wouldn't have been doing that if I was fully in the nip!"

Chi Lewis-Parry, a former MMA fighter, was also in 'Gladiator II'

Before he became an actor, Lewis-Parry, who stands at 6-foot-8-inches, was an MMA fighter with nine wins under his belt between 2012 and 2020, according to ESPN.

However, the 41-year-old told Variety that he's wanted to be an actor since seeing the poster for "Big Trouble in Little China" in 1986. He quit fighting shortly after the COVID lockdowns in 2021 to make acting his full-time career.

He started out in the 2022 "Pistol" TV series as the Sex Pistols' bodyguard during their 1978 US tour. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, he had minor roles in TV shows including "Pennyworth" and "Slow Horses."

His first major film role came in 2024 when he played Phoebus in "Gladiator II" alongside Paul Mescal. His character was killed by a rhino in the coliseum.

"I had a confrontational scene with Paul that sets up his demise, but that got cut. So he became just the cocky guy who's got lots of energy," he told Variety.

Teasing his next role, which is in "The Running Man" alongside Glen Powell, Lewis-Parry said: "I'm one of the runners and he's a very specific runner. I don't know how much more I'm allowed to say."

Lewis-Parry might return in '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple'

Since Samson survives in "28 Years Later," it's likely that Lewis-Parry will return for the sequel, titled "The Bone Temple."

He teased his involvement when speaking to Metro ahead of the film's release.

"What can I tease? There's a part two," he said, before adding: "It's different, it's amazing."

"28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" was shot back-to-back with the first film and will be released in theaters in 2026.

• The director Danny Boyle and the writer Alex Garland breathed new life into zombie movies with "28 Days Later."
• Over 20 years after the original, they're back with "28 Years Later."
• Here are the best zombie movies to watch after you recover from the frights of "28 Years Later."

Sure, purists might argue the infected in "28 Years Later" aren't technically zombies.

But when a film franchise redefines a classic genre (by making the zombie-like creatures fast and relentless, rather than slow and bumbling) there's arguably room for creative license.

It all started in 2002 with "28 Days Later," where a bite from a person infected with the Rage Virus transforms them into a mindless killer who hungers only for flesh and blood.

In "28 Years Later," the director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland explore how the infected have evolved, and how the survivors have managed to keep calm and carry on.

Since then, other filmmakers have taken to the idea of fast zombies, infections, and adrenaline-fueled terror in their own projects, while films like "Night of the Living Dead" are still undeniable classics.

Here are the nine best zombie movies to watch after "28 Years Later," according to their Rotten Tomatoes scores.

"Night of the Living Dead" (1968)

Critics' Consensus: "George A. Romero's debut set the template for the zombie film, and features tight editing, realistic gore, and a sly political undercurrent."

Tomatometer score: 95%

Popcornmeter: 87%

"Train to Busan" (2016)

Critics' Consensus: "'Train to Busan' delivers a thrillingly unique — and purely entertaining — take on the zombie genre, with fully realized characters and plenty of social commentary to underscore the bursts of skillfully staged action."

Tomatometer score: 95%

Popcornmeter: 89%

"REC" (2007)

Critics' Consensus: "Plunging viewers into the nightmarish hellscape of an apartment complex under siege, 'Rec' proves that found footage can still be used as an effective delivery mechanism for sparse, economic horror."

Tomatometer score: 90%

Popcornmeter: 82%

"The Girl with All the Gifts" (2017)

Critics' Consensus: "'The Girl with All the Gifts' grapples with thought-provoking questions without skimping on the scares — and finds a few fresh wrinkles in the well-worn zombie horror genre along the way."

Tomatometer score: 86%

Popcornmeter: 67%

"Dawn of the Dead" (2004)

Critics' Consensus: "A kinetic, violent and surprisingly worthy remake of George Romero's horror classic that pays homage to the original while working on its own terms."

Tomatometer score: 77%

Popcornmeter: 77%

"The Crazies" (2010)

Critics' Consensus: "Tense, nicely shot, and uncommonly intelligent, 'The Crazies' is a horror remake that, unusually, works."

Tomatometer score: 72%

Popcornmeter: 57%

"World War Z" (2013)

Critics' Consensus: "It's uneven and diverges from the source book, but 'World War Z' still brings smart, fast-moving thrills and a solid performance from Brad Pitt to the zombie genre."

Tomatometer score: 67%

Popcornmeter: 72%

• Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "28 Years Later."
• "28 Years Later" leaves the story open for its sequel, "The Bone Temple," which is due out in 2026.
• The ending sees Spike (Alfie Williams) meet a strange new group of survivors.

Horror fans rejoice, the sequel to the long-awaited "28 Years Later," "The Bone Temple," has already been filmed and is due out in theaters next year.

2002's "28 Days Later" became a cult classic by taking a fresh bite out of the zombie movie genre: instead of a supernatural threat, the undead are infected by the Rage Virus.

"28 Years Later," out Friday, is the start of a new trilogy from the director and screenwriter of the original film, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. It tells the story of 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) who leaves the safety of the island where his family live to find a cure for his sick mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), on the UK mainland.

By the end of the film, Isla lets the mysterious Doctor Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) euthanize her after he diagnoses her with metastatic brain cancer.

Spike then roams the mainland instead of returning home, and in its final scene crosses paths with a man who calls himself Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell). The strange cult leader who has long blond hair are, as Boyle and Garland confirmed to Business Insider, dressed like Jimmy Savile, the infamous British TV presenter and prolific sexual abuser.

The film ends as Spike chooses to go with Jimmy. Here's what to know about "The Bone Temple."

The cast of '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' includes Cillian Murphy, Alfie Williams, Jack O'Connell, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

The plot for "The Bone Temple" is unknown, but presumably it will explore Jimmy's past after he escaped the Rage Virus following the initial outbreak, as seen in the violent opening scene of "28 Years Later."

His Savile-esque appearance raises an intriguing question: The Rage Virus outbreak started in 2002, meaning Savile's numerous sexual crimes may not have been made public in the film's timeline. In real life, the allegations were made in 2011 onwards, after Savile died.

Garland told BI that the story will examine how misremembering key events can drastically change the world."We are living in a time right now which is absolutely dominated by a misremembered past," he said.

Williams and O'Connell will return for "The Bone Temple" alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays Spike's father, Jamie.

Boyle also confirmed to BI that Cillian Murphy will return as Jim, the main character from "28 Days Later."

'28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' is due in 2026

"28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" will be released on January 16, 2026, so there isn't long to wait after that surprising ending.

This is because "28 Years Later" and "The Bone Temple" were filmed back-to-back in summer 2024.

Boyle didn't direct the second film, but he did return as a producer. Nia Da Costa directed the sequel with a script from Garland.

Da Costa has previously helmed movies like "Candyman" and "The Marvels," as well as episodes of "Top Boy" and "Ms. Marvel."

For more than two decades, Danny Boyle has been plagued by one question: What would happen after a zombie apocalypse?

The famed director's 2002 movie "28 Days Later" broke conventions of the zombie genre and helped launch a digital video moviemaking revolution in the early 2000s. But as years and then decades passed — and Boyle went on to earn a best director Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire," do a Steve Jobs movie, and make a "Trainspotting" sequel — he could never crack a continuation of his original "28 Days."

Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland missed out on the sequel, 2007's "28 Weeks Later," because they had already committed to making the sci-fi thriller "Sunshine." And pitching their own continuation around Hollywood never got any traction. Maybe it would be one of those things that would never come to fruition.

It wasn't until the British Film Institute invited him to do a Q&A at a "28 Days Later" 20th anniversary screening in 2022 that Boyle realized just how much audiences appreciated the film.

"I showed up and it was a packed theater," Boyle told Business Insider during a recent trip to New York City. "I was shocked. You could feel the audience's energy watching it. I texted Alex after, and I told him there's still an appetite for this. So he then came up with an idea."

Garland's idea would become "28 Years Later," which opens in theaters June 20. The film focuses in on a small island community in England that's learned to survive in relative isolation 28 years after the country was ravaged by the Rage Virus. But when Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) venture to the mainland, they discover new mutations of the virus and survivors with their own fearsome methods for staying alive.

Though the "28 Years Later" cast is entirely new — and there are no glimpses of original "28 Days" star Cillian Murphy, despite the rumors — Boyle is just getting started. He's also a producer on a sequel set for release in January, "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple," which was shot by director Nia DaCosta ("Candyman") right after "28 Years" wrapped. And Boyle will return to direct a third movie, which will indeed star "28 Days Later" star Cillian Murphy. That is, if Sony will greenlight it.

So how did Boyle crack the code to continuing his zombie franchise? His trick is to think limited, not expansive. Though he has big aspirations for a trilogy, it all came about by keeping "28 Years Later" as grounded as possible.

"I love limitations, because I can bash against it and that gives energy and inventiveness," Boyle said with a wide smile. "So the third movie is in many ways an original film."

For the latest edition of Business Insider's Director's Chair series, Boyle discusses returning to the zombie genre, how he used Cillian Murphy as leverage to pursue his other creative ideas, and if he'd ever take on another James Bond movie.

Business Insider: Take me back to that "28 Days Later" 20th anniversary BFI screening. Where was your head at then about doing a third movie?

Danny Boyle: By that point, Alex had developed one script, which we decided not to do: weaponizing the virus, a traditional type of sequel. It was a good script, but we just didn't get any traction. After the BFI screening, he came up with the idea of confining the story to an island, and that was a really good decision.

How much of the COVID pandemic influenced how you wanted the characters to navigate the Rage Virus 28 years later?

It would be that people would become accustomed. You can take risks and know when the back off them. There's a kid in this movie who has no knowledge of the virus — it has been passed on to him; he's never seen any of it. This is his first trip to the mainland. He's heard stories.

You can see that the kids draw pictures of the stories they've been told. They have mythologized the virus. So we talked about all that. And then we delve into the culture before the apocalypse, and it's distorted. How reliable is it? We don't know. But that's an element that goes into the second film, "The Bone Temple."

The visuals have always been a hallmark of your filmography, but especially this franchise. "28 Days Later" ushered digital cameras into the mainstream. Now with this movie, you're shooting with iPhones. It's been done a lot on the indie side with filmmakers like Sean Baker and Steven Soderbergh, but I believe this is the first time camera phones have been used at the studio level. Why did you want to do that?

I felt an obligation to take the spirit of the first movie, but be aware that the technology has moved on so much. Phones now shoot at 4K, which is what a lot of cameras shoot at anyway. And the advantage of using the phones is we were able to be very lightweight.

Also, some of the locations we were shooting hadn't been disturbed for many years. It's an area of England called Northumberland, its sister county is Yorkshire, which is agriculture and manicured. In order to go there with a crew, you have to be light, so having iPhone cameras was good for that. We used a lot of drones, which had different camera lenses; we used a specific Panasonic camera for the night vision footage.

But the iPhone gave us a light touch and allowed us to use these rigs, which I'd been trying to use for a while. It's a poor man's bullet time. But you don't have to go to it, you can carry it. 

So now, instead of laying down dolly track and having all this gear in these very preserved locations, all you need to retrace are footsteps. 

That's right. 

How did you sell Sony on all of this?

[Laughs.] Um. I can't remember. 

Come on.

I will do and say anything to get the film made. There is a terrible side to directors where you will promise [studios] stuff and you don't mean it. They are nervous. They're a corporation. And you have to massage the vision. 

So what was the promise you gave that you weren't going to fulfill?

Cillian Murphy. 

What better promise could you make? That's quite a deflection of any technical concerns; they soon forget. Yeah, we nakedly used that to get our own way. But Sony knew what they were inheriting.

Did Nia DaCosta shoot "The Bone Temple" right after you wrapped on "28 Years"?

Pretty much. She visited the "28 Years" set a couple of times, but yeah, she was prepping her own film, she had her own cinematographer, and though she inherited the sets and some of the characters, she also had her own cast for a substantial part of it.

And she gets a bit of Cillian at the end. All I can say is you have to wait for Cillian, but hopefully he will help us get the third film financed. 

So where are things with the third movie?

We still need the money. I mean, we'll see how we do with "28 Years Later." It's so close to release that nobody wants to say anything; they just don't know what it's going to do. And I respect that. It's a lot of money, so we'll see. 

If there is a third movie, would you want to direct it?

Oh, yes. That's the idea. 

You famously walked off the last James Bond movie. Would you ever give Bond another try now that the regime has changed and Amazon is fully controlling it?

That ship has sailed. The thing I regret about that is the script was really good. John Hodge is a wonderful writer, and I don't think they appreciated how good that script was, and because they didn't, we moved on, and that's the way it should be. Whatever happens with Bond going forward now is what it will be. 

As someone who has done a Beatles movie with "Yesterday," what's your take on Sony's ambitious plan for four Beatles movies?

[Sony chairman] Tom Rothman — who I fight with a lot, and who I love very dearly — I do tip my hat to him, because that is backing a visionary filmmaker in Sam Mendes with a hard, big investment. That's a lot of vision to say, here ya go, there's four films. And they are all going to get released around the same time. 

All in one month! Just from the perspective of a director, would that scare you?

Sam clearly has an appetite to handle it all. I don't know what his vision is, but he's got terrific actors. I worked with Harris Dickinson, who is a wonderful actor, so he's got himself a very special cast. 90% of anything is casting; if you get it right, you're almost there. So I admire it. 

Now, one of the things we found, and they will have this issue, is that people don't know The Beatles' music. We just did a workshop on "Yesterday" and its long-term plans — like, should there be a stage production one day? We did a workshop with a bunch of actors, and lots of them just didn't know the songs. They are in their 20s or 30s, so why would they? They all can recite from memory something from Taylor Swift or Harry Styles, but The Beatles? So, we'll see.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

"28 Years Later" opens in theaters June 20.