The Oscar-winning actor is set to return to our screens, but this time, it will be in a way we’re not used to seeing him.
Set nearly three decades into a dystopian Britain ravaged by a flesh-eating virus, Cillian Murphy is set to return to our screens in the franchise that “changed everything” for him.
Although he had appeared in several films before, it was his starring role as Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes from a coma to find the UK overrun by zombies, in the 2002 zombie epic 28 Days Later that truly marked the turning point in his career.
His career quickly skyrocketed from there, and earlier this year, he won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer.
Speaking about the possibility of completing the 28 Days Later trilogy, Murphy shared with Variety in February, “I’ve always said I would love to be involved because that movie changed everything for me, and I have great affection for it and for those guys—Alex [Garland] and Danny [Boyle].”
Now, that dream has come true, as the trailer for 28 Years Later was released this morning (December 10), confirming that Alex Garland and Danny Boyle co-wrote the new film, with Boyle also returning as director.
Additionally, on December 6, Sony Pictures posted a poster on Instagram featuring the tagline, “Time didn’t heal anything.”
At the end of the first film, 28 Days Later, Jim (played by Cillian Murphy), along with Naomie Harris as Selena and Megan Banks as Hannah, appeared to be rescued by the RAF, as a plane flew overhead while they unfurled a large banner reading “HELLO.”
However, based on the 28 Years Later trailer, things didn’t turn out as positively for Jim as fans might have hoped.
It has been confirmed that Murphy will reprise his role as Jim, but the film now also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes.
With such a star-studded cast, it seems there wasn’t much space for a healthy, surviving Jim.
Instead, Murphy appears to have returned—this time as a zombie.
Fans were left stunned by his undead appearance in the trailer, with one Reddit user posting, “Omg zombie Cillian Murphy!” Another commented, “The one-second shot of Cillian Murphy is giving me a bone-deep sense of terror.”
“Seeing the ‘hero’ end up like that makes it feel more ‘real’ than a movie should, lol.”
A third person added, “It’s almost like a greatest hits collection from the last two movies—zombies in the church, the wave coming over the hill, the tunnel fight in the dark.”
“Was that Cillian Murphy at 1:47?” asked another viewer.
A fourth commenter wrote, “We already know Cillian has a small role in this one, with a much bigger part in part 2. I don’t think it’s a spoiler; we just don’t have the full context yet.”
Fiennes has previously mentioned that the film will be a trilogy, with two parts already filmed—28 Years Later and 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple.
