Cillian Murphy Won’t Appear in 28 Years Later

After the internet went wild speculating that the zombie featured in the excellent 28 Years Later trailer was a zombified Jim, the character played by Cillian Murphy in 2002’s 28 Days Later, Empire Magazine has confirmed that the actor won’t appear at all in the upcoming first entry in the planned trilogy.

Director Danny Boyle reteams with writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Ex Machina, Annihilation) on 28 Years Later, with Murphy serving as executive producer, which has only fueled the expectation that Jim would return.

Producer Andrew Macdonald told Empire of Murphy’s hopeful return, “[On] this, we wanted him to be involved, and he wanted to be involved. He is not in the first film, but I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line. He’s involved at the moment as an executive producer, and I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy.” In other words, the actor is strictly working behind the scenes, but the door is open for Jim’s return in a future installment.

The sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman), has already been shot and is set to release on January 16, 2026. 

28 Years Later will be unleashed in theaters on June 20, 2025, from Sony.

In the new movie, “It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.”

The horror movie’s cast includes Jack O’Connell (Amy Winehouse: Back To Black), Jodie Comer (Alone in the Dark, “Killing Eve”), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), ​Alfie Williams (“His Dark Materials”) and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu).