If you’d told us a decade ago that Duran Duran would become full-fledged Halloween icons, complete with themed shows, theatrical costuming, and a fanbase that treats October 31 like a second New Year’s Eve — we would’ve thought you had Come Undone. Fast forward to the Danse Macabre album and sold-out Halloween gigs, and it’s clear the band has fully embraced their darker side with style.
Which is exactly why, when 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple arrived and wove Duran Duran deep into its post‑apocalyptic soundscape, it was the perfect collision of a wild world and our favorite Wild Boys.
The 28 Days Later Franchise
The saga began with 28 Days Later in 2002, Danny Boyle’s gritty, nerve-shredding reinvention of the zombie genre. Over two decades later, the series continues to evolve, each installment introducing new layers of psychological tension, social decay, and unexpected human drama.
The Bone Temple (2026), directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland, picks up decades after the initial outbreak. Dr. Ian Kelson, a reclusive physician, lives in an underground bunker that doubles as a clinic and a memorial to the dead. His world is shaped by fractured factions, improvised rituals, and his increasingly complicated bond with Alpha aka Samson, an infected man who hovers between threat and companion.
Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, and Alfie Williams return from 28 Years Later, while Cillian Murphy makes a brief, uncredited appearance that tees up the franchise’s next chapter.
28 Film Series at a Glance
- 28 Days Later
- — Release Date: June 27, 2003 Director: Danny Boyle Writer: Alex Garland
- 28 Weeks Later
- — Release Date: May 11, 2007 Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
- 28 Years Later
- — Release Date: June 20, 2025 Director: Danny Boyle
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- — Release Date: January 16, 2026 Director: Nia DaCosta
Duran Duran Enters the Bone Temple
If you’re a Duranie, the real thrill of The Bone Temple comes from how its soundtrack takes center stage.
Dr. Kelson is a full‑tilt superfan. His bunker shelves display Duran Duran vinyls, with Rio glowing front and center. A photo of Simon Le Bon in peak Notorious swagger watches over the room like a perfectly coiffed flaky bandit.
And then there’s Kelson himself whose shaved head and intense stare give him more than a passing resemblance to the freaky robot head from the Wild Boys video. The effect becomes even more delicious when you remember that Ralph Fiennes, who plays Kelson, bears a striking similarity to Patrick Stewart… the very face that inspired that original animatronic Wild Boy. It’s a visual echo that feels too perfect to be accidental.
And how could we forget Warren Cuccurullo, who these days is also sporting this bad ass bald guy look.
Duran Duran tracks featured in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple:
Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score brings the icy dread, but the film slices through that tension with three perfectly placed Duran Duran tracks:
When Kelson matter-of-factly disposes of a female infected while singing along to Girls on Film, the moment plays as pitch-black comedy — disturbing, but strangely euphoric.
Later, he’s dancing with Samson, the two swaying together as Rio blasts in a world otherwise ruled by rage and ruin.
In another scene, Kelson and Samson sit quietly together as Ordinary World plays.
Duran Duran’s Built-In Horror DNA
Long before The Bone Temple, Duran Duran had already carved out a place in the darker corners of pop culture.
Night Boat — Zombies Before Zombies Were Everywhere
Russell Mulcahy’s video turned the song into a mini horror film—zombie‑like figures, decaying landscapes, and Simon Le Bon reciting Shakespeare before sundown. It’s often cited as one of the earliest zombie‑themed music videos, predating the genre’s mainstream boom.
The Wild Boys — Post‑Apocalyptic Monsters and Men
Mulcahy again pushed the band into dystopian spectacle that tortures Simon, John, Nick, Roger, and Andy with windmills, machinery, and monstrous figures. It’s cult cinema disguised as a music video.
Arena: An Absurd Notion — Underworld Storytelling
Even their concert film couldn’t resist a villainous Dr. Durand Durand and a subterranean world of theatrical menace. Much of this aesthetic throughline traces back to Nick Rhodes, whose love of cult cinema and visual darkness has shaped the band’s creative DNA for decades.
Longtime fans know this instinctively: Duran Duran has always been about atmosphere as much as melody. Mood, movement, cinematic tension—they’ve lived in that space since the early 80s.
These aren’t the only ghoulish videos created by our favorite fellas. There’s also:
and many others!
