Sony didn’t waste any time after purchasing the rights to 28 Days Later. The acquisition was announced alongside plans for a new trilogy, but these plans were a bit open-ended. All we knew about for sure were Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later and Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which were filmed back-to-back and slated for release in 2025 and 2026.
The plan was to revive interest in a zombified Britain and attract an audience for a third movie. Now, it looks like that scheme is coming together, and it involves the return of a character fans have been clamoring to see.
According to Deadline, Sony has officially greenlit a third 28 Years Later movie, and like the first two, it will be written by Alex Garland. There’s no director attached yet, but Danny Boyle has expressed a desire to return after directing 28 Years Later. But the most exciting part of this announcement is that Cillian Murphy is in talks to star. Murphy starred as Jim in 28 Days Later, but hasn’t been seen since. Boyle has tipped his hand and revealed that Jim will return at the very end of The Bone Temple, so that won’t just be a cameo, but a tease of what’s probably coming next.
This third 28 Years Later movie would be the first Garland/Boyle/Murphy project since the original 28 Days Later, and quite possibly the final movie in the franchise. But if this is the last we see of an infected Britain, it sounds like a great way to go out.
