I Think 28 Years Later's Ending Has A Subtle, Twisted Pop Culture Reference That Americans May Have Missed

Warning, there are spoilers ahead for 28 Years Later, which finally hit the 2025 movie schedule in mid-June.

The ending of 28 Years Later has been discussed a lot. Not only does it bring the movie full circle from the opening scene, but it throws in a few pop culture references, and provides a “hand off” to the sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is already on the 2026 movie schedule. There is one pop culture reference that American audiences may have missed, and it involves one of the worst scandals in British entertainment history. That of Jimmy Savile, the now-disgraced (and deceased) DJ and TV personality. Let’s get into it.

Teletubbies, Power Rangers, And Jimmy Savile

In the final scene of 28 Years Later, Spike (Alfie Williams) has written home to his father to explain that he’s taking off to be on his own for a while. As he sits on the side of a road and contemplates his next move, Spike is suddenly surrounded by Infected. As he readies himself to do battle, he’s joined by “Sir” Jimmy, played wonderfully by Jack O'Connell, and Jimmy’s band of tracksuit-wearing warriors.

The multi-colored tracksuits provide a nice callback to the beginning of the movie when we see Jimmy watching Teletubbies on TV as the Rage virus starts to take hold of Great Britain, 28 years before the central events of the film. It’s also a nice callback to a scene where Spike decides against bringing his Power Ranger action figure on his first trip to the mainland.

Those are both references that anyone in the United Kingdom and the United States would recognize right away. The third part of the reference, the tracksuits, Jimmy’s haircut, and, indeed, his name, would be immediately recognizable to British audiences, but maybe not American ones. To me (and to many other eagle-eyed viewers), the reference to the notorious Jimmy Savile is obvious.

Jimmy Savile Was An Icon In The United Kingdom Until He Was Revealed To Be A Monster

Savile, who died in 2011, was the most famous DJ on Radio One for decades. He also hosted Top Of The Pops and his own show, Jimmy’ll Fix It, a sort of Make-A-Wish Foundation kind of show. He was as famous for his charitable work as he was for his radio and TV presenting.

That all changed after he died, and hundreds of accusations of Savile sexually abusing children came out publicly. Today, his reputation is completely disgraced as victim after victim has told their stories. So, why would writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle make reference to such a despicable person? Well, that’s a little complicated, but it makes sense.

28 Years Later Presents What Amounts To An Alternate Timeline

This all started as a discussion on social media, and it has since been confirmed by Danny Boyle. Garland and Boyle have talked about how the movie is looking back in some ways. Remember, we’re 28 years out from the Rage virus outbreak, so theoretically, in the world of 28 Years Later, the horrible acts committed by Savile were never revealed, and he was still thought of as a beloved DJ and TV presenter.

This theory is reinforced by the use of the song “Delilah” by Tom Jones, which used to be a staple on British radio but has been culturally canceled in recent years due to its problematic lyrics promoting violence against women. Again, in the world of 28 Years Later, that never happened, so the song’s reputation has not suffered its true fate.

While Savile's story is very well known in the UK, but, aside from a few documentaries, it wasn't a very big one in the United States. Many Americans may not fully get the reference, though some certainly will.

If you’ve made it this far and haven’t seen 28 Weeks Later, what are you waiting for? CinemaBlend’s Mike Reyes gave the movie a 5-star review, and it’s definitely one of my favorite movies of the year, as well.