28 Years Lateris coming up soon, and it will forge ahead without one of its major actors. The franchise film that started it all,28 Days Later, featuredOscar winner Cillian Murphyin one of the leading roles, playing Jim. Despite surviving the events of the first movie,Jim did not return for the 2007 sequel28 Weeks Later.Some viewers who watched an early28 Years Latertrailerthought that Murphy may be returning to the franchise in zombie form, but this theory was later debunked.
Instead,28 Years Laterwill focus on the story of a group of survivors who are isolated on an island community and see their world rattled when one of them leaves for the mainland and discovers harsh secrets. Rather than bringing back characters from previous movies,28 Years Laterhas a new castincluding Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alfie Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, Emma Laird, and Erin Kellyman.This film is set to be followed up by not one, but two sequels,and they just got some news that is exciting but risky.
Cillian Murphy Will Get A Bigger Role In 28 Years Later 3 After The Bone Temple
Danny Boyle Recently Confirmed This Detail In An Interview
DirectorDanny Boyle just confirmed that Murphy will returnfor28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Speaking on Nia DaCosta’s film, Boyle said that the director “gets a bit of Cillian at the end.” However, he then implied thatit would actually be28 Years Later 3that would give Murphy the bigger role. If this film happens, this will be an exciting chance for the franchise to fully flesh out Jim’s story and his whereabouts since his last appearance nearly three decades ago.
Boyle did not confirm the full extent to which Murphy will appear in28 Days Later: The Bone Temple, but it seems like his role will be fairly minimal. This could take the form of a quick cameo, paying homage to Jim without actually featuring him in significant scenes.The Bone Templecould also provide an ending tease or even a post-credits scene that shows a bit of Jim and hints about his storyline, building up hype for the third film in his more exciting role.
There’s A Potentially Major Problem With 28 Years Later’s Cillian Murphy Return Plan
The Third Film Is Not Confirmed
As exciting as Murphy’s return to the zombie franchise is, there is one major issue;28 Years Later 3has not been confirmed. Boyle seems optimistic about this in his quote, noting that “hopefully [Murphy] will help [them] get the third film financed.” On the more pessimistic angle, this means that28 Years Later 3has definitely not been financed yet. While Boyle has been confirmed to come back to direct28 Years Later 3after passing the torch to DaCosta forThe Bone Temple, filming is said to start after this next film.
This means that a lot hingeson the performance of28 Years Laterand its follow-up,The Bone Temple. Murphy’s full return plan will only come to fruition if the predecessors succeed at the box office enough to get the third movie funded and on schedule.28 Weeks Later($65 million worldwide) already has a smaller box office than28 Days Later($85 million worldwide), despite its expanded budget.28 Years Laterneeds to not repeat this pattern to ensure the third movie will get made.
Cillian Murphy’s Return Will Be Frustrating If Sony Doesn’t Finish The 28 Years Later Trilogy
It Might Not Come Through On The Tease
The uncertainty surrounding28 Years Later 3poses a major risk to the Murphy return plans. On the one hand, it could be exciting to get a brief tease of the character inThe Bone Templeand then find out more answers in the following film. However, it would be incredibly frustrating if the franchise teases a major role that never comes to fruition. Even ifThe Bone Templewere to end fairly conclusively for the other characters, it would leave audiences who look forward to Jim’s comeback feeling unfulfilled.
28 Years Lateris releasing on June 20, and28 Years Later: The Bone Templeis scheduled for July 26, 2025.
