28 Years Later director Danny Boyle has revealed just how big of a role Cillian Murphy’s Jim will play in the sequel, but the answer may disappoint you. Over 20 years ago, Danny Boyle and then-fresh-faced actor Cillian Murphy teamed up for a seminal movie in the zombie genre known as 28 Days Later. It was a box office hit that made 10x its original budget, making it a highly profitable film that was also hailed by critics as terrifying and inventive. About five years later, writer Alex Garland directed the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which didn’t feature Murphy’s character in any capacity.
However, when it was announced that a new trilogy of 28 Days Later sequels were in the works, it was heavily rumored that Cillian Murphy would be apart of them, especially following his huge Oscar win for Oppenheimer. 28 Years Later doesn’t feature Cillian Murphy in any capacity, something that was previously known to set expectations. Instead, it was stated he would appear in the sequels starting with next year’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. There were even rumors that he was spotted shooting with the crew of that film last year, but details around his appearance in the film have been veiled in immense secrecy.
28 Years Later Sequel Will Only Tease Cillian Murphy’s Character
With that said, director Danny Boyle revealed just how much Cillian Murphy we can expect in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple… and it’s not very much. Light spoilers follow for the sequel as Boyle talked very loosely about the end of that movie in an interview with Screen Rant. The sequel is being directed by Nia DaCosta, but Boyle noted that he has seen a rough cut of it and teased that Cillian Murphy’s Jim will be re-introduced at the end of 28 Years Later‘s sequel, similarly to the cult of Jimmys at the end of the first movie.
“I’ve seen a rough cut of Nia DaCosta’s The Bone Temple and he is introduced beautifully at the end of the film. That obviously leads you into the way you probably realize that Jimmy is going to be a huge part of the second movie having been introduced in the coda of the first movie, likewise, Cillian will be a huge part of the third movie having been introduced in effect a coda to the second movie, a very surprising one nonetheless.”
As of right now, we have absolutely no idea what his character is up to, what we can expect from Cillian’s take on Jim this many years later, or exactly what journey they will take in the third film. Although the sequel has already been shot and is due out in January 2026, the third 28 Years Later film hasn’t been shot or even written yet. Garland has noted he has a story and plan, but is seemingly waiting to hear if 28 Years Later is a hit and for the greenlight to put it to paper.
Of course, the existence of a cult of characters named Jimmy certainly makes you wonder if Murphy’s Jim is part of that same group. We’ll just have to wait and see, but it’s clear that we’ll be waiting a while before we get a healthy dose of his character in the 28 Years Later world.
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