‘28 Years Later’ Ending Explained: Who Is Jimmy?
The long-gestating sequel to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later, is finally here and with it a ludicrous ending that raises all sorts of questions.
It’s been an 18-year wait, but we finally have a new instalment in the 28 Days franchise. Directed by Danny Boyle, the film follows a small island community in the quarantined United Kingdom, still plagued by the Rage Virus. Read our 28 Years Later ending explained article
This article contains major spoilers for 28 Years Later.
The film specifically revolves around a family that lives in this community, where father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) travel to the mainland on low tide to give Spike real-world experience in killing infected. After returning home, Spike takes his sick mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), to go find a doctor (Ralph Fiennes) on the English mainland. They find a baby, born to an infected woman, that is miraculously uninfected.
How Does ‘28 Years Later’ End?
Upon meeting Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson, Isla is diagnosed with cancer and agrees to be euthanised by Kelson. Now motherless, Spike takes the baby (now named Isla) back to his island community and leaves her in a basket with a note addressed to his father, stating his intention to explore the world a little more before coming back.
We see Spike on a roadside, cooking fish over a fire, until he is interrupted by a group of infected. He kills one and then begins running before he comes to a barricade across the road. He’s cornered, and just when he’s almost out of options, a man atop the barricade offers Spike some help, and the man’s group of friends kill the infected in a variety of twisted ways, including sawing off one’s head. He introduces himself as Jimmy.
Who is Jimmy Crystal in ‘28 Years Later’?
Jimmy is played by Jack O’Connell, who appeared as the vampire Remmick in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners earlier this year. The character of Jimmy Crystal bookends the film, appearing as a child in the opening scene of the movie.
In the opening scene, Jimmy is placed into a room with several other children as they watch Teletubbies whilst the apocalypse rages on. Several infected burst into the room and young Jimmy escapes, ordered to run by his mother. He runs into a church where he finds his father, praying. His father commits suicide by infection, and Jimmy hides.
Jimmy is alluded to throughout the film, with his name carved into the back of a man hanging upside down and left for the infected. Later, his name is also graffitiied onto a brick wall. These two allusions were theorised to be for Jim, Cillian Murphy’s character in the 28 Days Later film, but it turned out to be something far more erratic.
Jimmy appears to be the head of a cult. Each of his “friends” all have bleached blond hair, dress similarly and are named after Jimmy. For example, Erin Kellyman plays Jimmy Ink and Emma Laird plays Jimmima. Given some of these actors’ ages, it is very possible that these characters were born, named after, and raised under Jimmy’s reign.
Does ‘28 Years Later’ Have A Post-Credit Scene?
No, 28 Years Later does not have a mid or post-credit scene.
Spike, Jimmy Crystal, Jamie, and Dr. Kelson will next be seen in 28 Years Later Part 2: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta.
28 Years Later stars Alfie Williams as Spike, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie, Jodie Comer as Isla, Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Ian Kelson, and Jack O’Connell as Jimmy Crystal. The film is directed by Danny Boyle and co-written by Boyle and Alex Garland.
28 Years Later is now playing in theatres worldwide, courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Thanks for reading this 28 Years Later ending explained article. For more news, stay tuned here at Feature First.
