Cillian Murphy’s Anticipated Return to ’28 Years Later’ Franchise: Everything We Know

The Long-Awaited Return

Director Danny Boyle has officially confirmed that Cillian Murphy will reprise his role as Jim in the ongoing 28 Days Later universe, amid intense speculation and as part of a carefully planned rollout strategy for the new trilogy.

Current Status and Role

While Murphy is currently involved as an executive producer on the first film, producer Andrew Macdonald has explained that though “he wanted to be involved,” Murphy won’t appear in the initial installment. The franchise revival, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes, has been filmed back-to-back with its follow-up.

The New Trilogy Structure

The first film, ’28 Years Later’, releases on June 20, 2025, followed by ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ on January 16, 2026. Boyle has confirmed that Murphy will appear in ‘The Bone Temple’, with Jim being introduced “at the coda” of the film. According to Boyle, “Cillian will be a huge part of the third movie.”

Production Details

Interestingly, the film was primarily shot using an iPhone 15 Pro Max, alongside action cameras, drones, and other digital and film cameras. This innovative approach harks back to filming the original ’28 Days Later’ using the Canon XL-1 digital camcorder.

Future Plans

A trilogy-capper remains in development and could be greenlit if ’28 Years Later’ becomes a box office hit. Boyle hopes that incorporating Murphy, who recently won a best actor Oscar for ‘Oppenheimer’, could help secure financing for the third film. As Boyle stated, “All I can say is you have to wait for Cillian, but hopefully he will help us get the third film financed.”