**Cillian Murphy Set for Pivotal Role in Concluding ‘28 Years Later’ Film, Teases Danny Boyle**
Acclaimed director Danny Boyle has given fans a glimpse into the future of the much-anticipated ‘28 Years Later’ trilogy, revealing that Cillian Murphy, star of the iconic original film ‘28 Days Later’, is set to play an increasingly prominent role as the series reaches its conclusion. Speaking to Collider, Boyle underlined that while Murphy’s character, Jim, has a minor presence in the forthcoming 2026 sequel, he will become a “very dominant element” in the third and final instalment.
Although Murphy, now aged 49, will not reprise his protagonist role in ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’—the next chapter following the 2002 cult classic—his involvement is expected to gather momentum, culminating with a significant contribution to the trilogy’s conclusion. The director suggested that, while not all characters span the full arc of the three films, some, including Murphy’s Jim, will become central to the story.
“We pitched it to Sony as a trilogy, a narrative that runs across three films,” Boyle, 68, commented. He explained that although studio bosses hesitated at immediately labelling the project as a trilogy, the filmmakers were insistent: “It is a trilogy! We’re not going to mislead the audience.”
Boyle further clarified that famed actor Ralph Fiennes will play a major character introduced in the second film, joining other new cast members such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Jack O’Connell. These actors will portray a family of survivors navigating a devastated Britain, still ravaged by the infamous Rage Virus in a society teetering on the brink of collapse.
One notable aspect of these sequels is their storytelling independence from the 2007 film ‘28 Weeks Later’—which was helmed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and took the virus to mainland Europe in its final act. Boyle emphasised that he and screenwriter Alex Garland made a conscious decision to craft a narrative that returns focus to the original’s themes and setting. “For story reasons, we suggested Europe had managed to repel the virus back across the Channel, isolating Britain until it burned itself out,” he noted.
Instead of adhering to familiar tropes seen in other science fiction franchises, the creative duo deliberately steered clear of more conventional approaches, such as governments or corporations weaponising the virus for nefarious purposes. “Alex initially drafted a script that followed a more traditional sequel route,” Boyle admitted, referencing previous attempts to capitalise on the viral outbreak motif reminiscent of the ‘Alien’ series. “But we felt there was a fresher direction worth exploring.”
Boyle was keen to stress, however, that while the trilogy’s structure ambitions are clear, viewers should not expect globe-trotting spectacle on the scale of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films. Rather, he described the work as “ambitious in its intellectual depth and emotional range, utilising the horror genre’s flexibility to push the story forward.”
With the ‘28 Years Later’ series, Boyle and Garland aspire to revisit the horror and philosophical undercurrents that made the original film such a defining moment for British cinema. The relationship between characters old and new will be tested as they confront both the physical and psychological consequences of survival in a world scarred by apocalyptic catastrophe.
As excitement builds for what many anticipate to be a milestone chapter in the evolution of the British horror genre, fans can look forward to a story that simultaneously pays homage to its roots and dares to chart new territory. Cillian Murphy’s return, in particular, signals a powerful through-line from the original nightmare vision to the saga’s ultimate reckoning—one that could redefine not only the fates of the characters themselves, but also the legacy of the ‘28 Days’ story for a new generation of viewers.