28 Years Later director sets the record straight on Cillian Murphy's role
Cillian Murphy will be in the 28 Years Later trilogy, the film's director has confirmed.
Danny Boyle, who directed the horror classics 28 Days and Weeks Later, will return later this year to show how far society has fallen 28 years after the Rage virus broke out.
And while Cillian, who starred as Jim, will be in the upcoming third film, some were concerned that he would be infected after clips from the trailer showed a Jim-looking infected victim for a split second (which, it turns out, wasn't the character). However, Danny has set the record straight and confirmed that Cillian will be in the 28 Years trilogy… in the second and third films. Cillian Murphy will be in the 28 Years Later trilogy, the film's director has confirmed. Pic: Fox Searchlight.
'Well, it's three films, a trilogy of films which have connecting characters,' Danny told IGN, explaining that 12-year-old Spike will be the main character of the new story. 'He will run right way through the films. We've shot the first two back-to-back, and that was for logistical reasons, actor availability reasons, and for story reasons as well. They're literally continuous.'
28 Years Later will be three films, with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple slated for a release next January, with Danny confirming that Cillian will be in the second film, and will be standing by for the third should they get funding.
'There's a coda… it's not a coda, it's the epilogue or an end theme at the end of the first film [28 Years Later] that gives you a handover to the second film,' Danny explained. 'Although each story completes itself, there's a handover section to the next film as well. So it's very ambitious. People were worried that Cillian's character of Jim was going to be infected in the upcoming trilogy, but director Danny Boyle confirmed that he'll be in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Pic: Sony/ Columbia
'We haven't got the money for the third one yet. It will depend on how the first one does, I guess. But hopefully, if we do ok, they'll give us the go-ahead for the money and for the third one. Everybody's standing by for that, really. Including Cillian.
'[Cillian] is in the second one… I shouldn't give away too much, I'll get killed!'
Cillian is also serving as executive producer in the upcoming trilogy, with some fans worried that he was going to be infected by the Rage virus in the film's first trailer. However, it was confirmed that Cillian wasn't the infected zombie-like creature (remember, this isn't a zombie movie!) — but rather art dealer Angus Neill.
'Danny told me he'd always had me in mind for the role,' Angus said. 'So we met up, hit it off, and I agreed to take part. On set he has an extraordinary ability to hypnotise you, and working with him on the film was a very, very intense experience.'
28 Years Later will hit Irish cinemas on June 20, while 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is slated for a January 16, 2026 release.
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