Cillian Murphy’s fate in the28 Days Later sequels has been officially confirmed by Danny Boyle after months of rumours.
Speculation surrounding the Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders actor’s appearance in 28 Years Later has been rife ever since a new film trilogy was announced in 2024 – with The Independent breaking the news to Murphy himself.
Murphy told The Independent he would sign up to the sequels if asked and his appearance in the film was believed to have been confirmed when the film’s first trailer was released; many believed it featured a zombified version of Murphy’s character Jim.
After the online furore, it was revealed by a producer working on the film that this zombie was played by actor Angus Neal, who merely looked like the Irish Oscar winner.
However, Boyle has assured fans of his 2002 post-apocalypse horror that Murphy’s character Jim will be in part two and three of the new trilogy.
“He is in the second one,” Boyle told IGN, adding: “I shouldn’t give away too much – I’ll get killed.”
The director revealed that, while one and two have been shot back-to-back, the makers are yet to be handed a budget for the third, meaning it’s reliant on how well 28 Years Later does at the box office.
“We haven’t got the money for the third one yet. It will depend how the first one does, I guess. But hopefully if we do OK, they’ll give us the go-ahead for the money and for the third one. Everybody’s standing by for that, really, including Cillian.”
Boyle said that the trilogy’s protagonist is 11-year-old Spike, who “will run right way through the films”, adding: “We’ve shot the first two back-to-back, and that was for logistical reasons, actor availability reasons, and for story reasons as well. They’re literally continuous.”
Boyle said that Murphy will show up in both 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which will be released in January 2026 – just seven months after 28 Years Later – but it appears it might be a brief appearance in the final scene.
“There’s a coda,” Boyle said. “Well, it’s not a coda, it’s the epilogue or an end theme. Although each story completes itself, there’s a handover section to the next film as well. So it’s very ambitious.”
Boyle has directed 28 Years Later with Nia DaCosta, who made the Candyman remake in 2021, directing The Bone Temple. If the third film is greenlit, Boyle will return to the director’s seat. All three films have been written by Alex Garland, who wrote the 2002 original.
Spike will be played by child star Alfie Williams, who stars in the film alongside Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jack O’Connell, who’ll continue his villainous streak following Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed blockbuster Sinners.
28 Years Later will be released on 20 June 2025.
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